February 23, 2023 at 1:00 PM
Hi everyone,
Yesterday evening, your Unifor Bargaining Committee was advised by Air Canada about its new Paid Sick Day Policy following the new federal rule that was put in place on December 31, 2022. The policy stipulates that members of our bargaining unit will from now on have 10 (ten) paid sick days per year (from January 1 to December 31). Therefore, sick time will no longer be calculated in hours. This means that members will be deducted one-day from their sick bank no matter how long their scheduled shift was.
The company also indicated that if in the even a member leaves sick at any point during their shift, they would be deducted 1 (one) full sick day.
Furthermore, the company informed us that Family Care Days (as described in article 11.09.01 of our collective agreement) will no longer exist. Air Canada specified that members can use the 3 (three) paid Federal Family Responsibility Days, and 2 (two) unpaid days per year (if needed).
Your Unifor Bargaining Committee strongly disagrees with this interpretation and will be challenging the company. We believe some aspects of it will be detrimental to our members’ interests. For one, the Family Care Days are part of our collective agreement and cannot simply be erased. The disappearance of the part sick days is also an issue.
Unifor will be filing a policy grievance today and we will keep you informed of any development to come.
In solidarity,
Unifor/Air Canada Bargaining Committee,
Benoit Lapointe – Chairperson, Eastern Region
Tracy Rector – Atlantic Region
Harold Bateman – Central Region
Joanne Goulet – Western Region
Soppo Gomez Gnali – Pacific Region
Tammy Moore – President, Unifor Local 2002
Frances Galambosy – Unifor National Service Representative, Airline Sector
Leslie Dias – Unifor Director, Airlines Sector
/23-02-23 Air Canada bargaining update EN.txt