April 21, 2006 at 12:00 AM
"Jazz is far and away the fastest growing, most profitable airline in Canada. As a regional airline Jazz’s market position is overwhelming, its future growth and efficiency gains will add to profit, its business model with Air Canada protects it from major risks, and Jazz management has promised a reliable payout to investor", explained Jim Stanford – CAW Economist. "This means Jazz’s employees must also share the benefits of productivity gains as well as the company’s overall success."
On April 11, 2006 Jim Stanford gave a presentation to Jazz management on the CAW’s understanding of the economic environment in which the airline is operating. Among other positive economic indicators Mr. Stanford noted that:
- overall unit costs have declined significantly at Jazz;
- labour costs per available seat mile (ASM) are down;
- labour productivity as a percentage of ASM’s is up sharply;
- load factor is moving steadily upwards, and;
- revenue growth has surged by over 30% in 2005.
Jim Stanford said continued growth and profitability for Jazz is almost a certainty. Given that the airline has guaranteed a reliable payout to investors, the company should also guarantee increases to the employees who made this success possible.
The CAW is fundamentally opposed to profit sharing programs which erode employee income over time. What is best for employees are guaranteed increases to their base wages that will not fluctuate with the market. Employee wages are not the same as investments and should not be subject to risk. Unlike shareholders, employees are given little decision making power in companies so their wages should not experience investment type uncertainties. At WestJet, employee ‘owners’ actually lost the equivalent of twelve weeks pay since 2000 because their profit sharing plan performed so poorly. CAW members will not be exposed to similar problems.
The CAW Bargaining Committees at Jazz join Jim Stanford in believing a negotiated settlement is the best outcome for both the company and its employees. The CAW is pleased that Jazz management has agreed to continue discussions in the hope of concluding a mutually agreeable settlement. This would remove the risk of an arbitrator deciding the company’s cost structure and demonstrate a positive labour relations environment to investors. However, if this process is not successful the CAW will be required to place the matter before an arbitrator for a binding decision.
For more information contact bargaining committee member.
Jazz Technical Services
Tim Way
Renaud Parent
Ian Waite
Peter Brown
John Murawesky
Carlos Cayuqueo
Tracey Reid – Tech 2 |
Jazz CSA/ACS
Shirley Anderson-Mio
Nancy Broughm
Josée Genois
Leona Currie
Mark Luyben
Robert Dolan |
Crew Scheduling
Tammi Kendrick
Charles MacAuley |