January 13, 2021 at 5:00 PM
Air Canada management advised its unions this morning that due to the ongoing Pandemic and further blanket restrictions put in place by the provinces, that the airline is temporarily reducing staff by approximately 405 employees at airports and call centres to reflect the decrease in its flying schedule. Unfortunately, this has been further complicated with the additional requirement that all travelers entering Canada must provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test, subsequently contributing to the decrease in air travel.
This reduction reflects an estimated 25 per cent in service and will impact members across the country. Members were first advised of the reduction from an internal email from Air Canada.
In a press release issued earlier today, Unifor National President Jerry Dias commented, "This announcement leaves airline workers with continued disappointment in the federal government's lack of action to support the industry. For months, we have been demanding that the federal government develop a long-lasting plan and provide financial support to save the industry from total collapse."
The announcement from Air Canada has added further uncertainty for our members, many who have remained in the workplace, and continue servicing the traveling public in the face of the deadly COVID-19 Pandemic. There are currently over 3,200 members on layoff status since the Pandemic arrived in Canada almost a year ago.
At this point, we do not have specifics as to which locations will be impacted. Once these details are known, we expect to begin discussions with the Company to mitigate as many of the surplus as possible.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
In solidarity,
Your Air Canada Bargaining Committee
Frances Galambosy, Central Region, Chairperson
Tammy Moore, Atlantic Region
Benoit Lapointe, Eastern Region
Joanne Goulet, Western Region
Steve Murphy, Pacific Region
Leslie Dias, Unifor Director – Airlines Sector
/21-01-12 Reductions at AC another disappointment for members en.txt