September 18, 2018 at 3:53 PM
As announced on August 21, 2018, a consortium of four businesses Toronto Dominion Bank (TD), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Visa Canada Corporation (VISA), and Air Canada have entered into an agreement in principle to purchase Aimia Canada Inc. (what we know as Aeroplan). The parties are currently going through the due diligence process to determine if they will complete the purchase. This process may take two to four months before the outcome will be known.
At this point, there is no disclosure on who will be the majority owner. What we do know, is that the Canada Labour Code protects workers in the event of a sale of a business. It is not permissible to purchase parts of a company and leave the workers behind.
As well, Section 44 of the Canada Labour Code provides for the continuation of bargaining rights upon the sale of the business. When a sale takes place, the trade union that is the bargaining agent for the employees in that business continues to be their bargaining agent and the collective agreement remains in place at the time the business is sold and continues to apply.
Until the majority owner or managing company is made public, we will not know exactly what the outcome will be for our Aeroplan members. Despite the rumors, this has not been determined, and neither the union nor Aeroplan is aware of what the outcome will be.
We will ensure to keep the members informed as this situation evolves. Please ensure that you keep us updated with your contact information and ensure that you have subscribed to Unifor 2002’s e-news service at
www.unifor2002.org.