In recent days we have all learned that Air Canada CEO Mike Rousseau has received a massive bonus. He received a $2.6-million bonus which is a part of a $12.08-million total compensation package.

https://bnnbreaking.com/finance-nav/air-canada-executives-receive-hefty-bonuses-despite-stock-underperformance-in-2023

Even though Air Canada stock did not perform well this bonus was provided due to the strong financial success of Air Canada in 2023. We believe that the strong financial success that was experienced was due in great part to the contributions of our members.

Each year we wait to see what bonuses will be paid to executives and we compare the salary that they receive with that of the employees. It is not surprising that Canada’s 100 highest-paid chief executive officers — who are overwhelmingly male — were paid an average of $14.9 million in 2022, 246-times more than the average employee wage and setting a record, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

https://policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/canadian-ceo-pay-breaks-all-records-reflecting-new-gilded-age-canada%E2%80%99s-rich

This is all being provided at a time when many of our members are struggling to make ends meet and to put food on their table.

This year it was announced that Profit Sharing will be provided to Air Canada employees.  It will be very interesting to see how profit sharing is provided and how this compares to that which Mr. Rousseau received.

Of course, we would like to have our members paid a living wage for all hours on duty and many studies indicate the value and the importance of employee engagement and fair wages. If the company were to pay wages that were aligned with the cost of living this would have sent the message that they want our members to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Unfortunately, they did not provide this.

We all know that collective bargaining is just around the corner and understand the importance of this round. After ten years, we are taking our rightful place at the table and seeking fair compensation for all the invaluable work that is provided day to day, night to night, and flight to flight by you the members. In the interim we shall all watch carefully to see what, if any, employee engagement looks like and whether we will see it thrive or whether talk of engagement is just empty words.

In solidarity,

This bulletin is being sent as an update to a few issues that the union has been involved in.

A320 Configuration and Special Assignment – Mainline ONLY
Some members have been asking about the Special Assignment posting relating to A320 Emergency Demonstrations. There was discussion that perhaps the A320 configuration was going to change and that the company was going to undertake a redesign of the aircraft cabin which was going to make it difficult to work on and create an inhumane workspace. We have learned that the testing is for a different aircraft configuration for two specific fins that are temporarily being added to our fleet. Because those two aircraft have different configurations, they must do the partial evacuation demo per the regulations. It is not a remodel of our current A320 fleet.

A330 Crew Rest Curtains
We spoke with Air Canada management last week. Once again one of the agenda items was the fact that it has taken almost nine months and we had not seen any further progress for the promised curtains on the A330 aircraft. We explained that making best efforts should not take this long. They explained that due to the workload issues they had some challenges. They have committed to provide an update to the membership. They advised us that they do understand our concerns and are actively working to improve their timelines.

Manulife Benefits April 1, 2024 – Mainline ONLY
As many members may be aware, Air Canada is changing our health and dental benefits provider.  This change takes effect on April 1st. The company held information sessions across the bases.  It is recommended that you set up an account and create a Manulife ID. The steps on how to do this can be found in SharePoint in Aeronet under the heading Air Canada Group Benefits. If you have further questions, the Q & A provided should serve to answer them. Following that if you still have questions, you can reach out to your local office or send us an email at contact@accomponent.ca. We will direct you to the proper resources.

United States Customs Memorandum of Agreement
There has been an issue with some United States Customs closing times and this has impacted some crew members who are required to check in earlier.  We have entered a Memorandum of Settlement with Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge. The Memorandum of Settlement confirms that Cabin Crew who are scheduled to operate a US Departure and who are advised prior to reporting for duty that their US Departure is delayed and that, due to the current operational hours of US Customs in Canadian airports, they are required to report for duty more than one (1) hour prior to the new forecasted departure time in order to clear US Customs.  This means that the new report for duty time for affected Cabin Crew will be one (1) hour prior to US Customs closure (“New Report for Duty Time”).  Additionally, Cabin Crew will be paid at one-half (1/2) of the hourly rate of pay (“Pay”) for their classification for the period of time that the New Report for Duty Time exceeds what would have been their rescheduled report for duty time under B5.02.01 (Mainline) and L55.15.04 (Rouge) of the Collective Agreement. Finally, Cabin Crew will not be required to submit a claim for the Pay.

NOTE: For greater clarity, the Pay is not applicable to Cabin Crew who are already on duty at the time their US Departure is delayed.

Vacation Repayment Process
As we noted in a previous bulletin, which can be viewed HERE, Air Canada is working through many vacation related claw back queries. Thanks to the members who wrote to us about this and noted the discrepancies. It is clearly an issue that Air Canada is working to address and rectify due to the large volume and other factors. We have followed up with them for an update and anticipate that one should be provided in the very near future. Going forward we will be asking that this entire process be evaluated and corrected to ensure that it is accurate long before they begin to claw any alleged monies owed. Members deserve to be made aware of what they owe and how the calculation of this amount was calculated with specifics. We will continue to follow this closely.

Letters of Expectation and Buy on Board Audits
Earlier this week Air Canada put out a bulletin relating to the buy on board and provided an educational explanation as to what the audit process entailed. We have followed up with Air Canada to seek clarity on whether the letters of expectation will cease or continue to be sent to members. We have asked for clarity as to the process going forward. We anticipate a response from Air Canada this week at which time we will consider our options.

In solidarity,