It is fair to say that the current situation we have all found ourselves in is frustrating and confusing for everyone.  Your Component Officers along with all locals are working on the hundreds of questions that have come in.  We are working through them all.

If you have sent an email to your Local Office or Component Office, please do not continue to send emails to everyone else, this will only back everyone up.

You should be directing questions to the employer after referencing the Question and Answer document the Employer has sent out, this is applicable to Rouge and Mainline.

You can reference the documents in the bulletin CUPE sent last night.

We have compiled a list of Questions for the Employer and will send those out at 1700(EDT) today, along with any answers we have received.

In solidarity,

Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge have published their documents relating to the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).

Please click HERE for Mainline Documentation.

Please click HERE for Rouge Documentation.

Your earnings are no longer based on 75 or 77.5 hours, they are now based on your received earnings as defined by the Income Tax Act paid between January 1, 2020 and March 15, 2020.

At Mainline, a form has been opened through eHR Kiosk where you can volunteer for inactive status effective as of the May 2020 block month until June 6, 2020. You have three options:

1. Volunteer for Inactive Status and receive wages through the CEWS program and remain on the Air Canada Payroll.
2. Volunteer for Inactive Status without pay from Air Canada. You may then apply to the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
3. Submit no application and remain active for flight duties during the May block month if your seniority permits.

If there are not enough volunteers for inactive status, the Company may need to place members involuntarily on inactive status based on reverse order of seniority. If this is the case, you will receive an email and be able to decide between receiving wages on the CEWS program or receiving no wages from Air Canada and then you may apply for CERB.

At Air Canada Rouge, all members will remain on inactive status until June 6, 2020. You have two options that will come out to you through email:

1. Receive wages through the CEWS program and remain on the Air Canada Rouge payroll.
2. Choose to go off the Air Canada Rouge payroll and apply to the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

After much consultation with the Company over the weekend, the HR form at Mainline will calculate an estimation of your weekly CEWS earning so that you may make an informed decision. For Rouge members, you will receive the same information by email.

The Union is currently reviewing all documentation and does have questions. We will work on getting answers for you and encourage you to reach out to the Company for any answers or clarity.

Please note that the company Q and A documents are around the CEWS program, and question 21 is only applicable if you are opting to stay on the Company payroll and receive CEWS.  You do NOT need to cancel your CERB payments if you are not staying on Company payroll.

In solidarity,

Please see the brief update below:

CEWS Program Update
The Union had hoped to have a detailed Q&A released today regarding the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and how it would apply to our members. However, the legislation to implement the subsidy hasn’t been passed by the House of Commons yet so there may be some changes or additions that would be relevant. The House of Commons will be having a special sitting tomorrow in order to debate the legislation, which should allow us to provide you further details shortly. We want to be sure to have as many questions answered by the Q & A document, allowing you to clearly know your next step, so again we appreciate your patience with this.

Commuter Update
Please note that on our APP, under “Member Resources” you can find Air Canada Component negotiated hotel rates.  Many of the standard hotels are not functioning during the current COVID-19 climate, that is listed as well.

PPE Equipment – Personal re-useable thermometers available now.
It is being recommended that you take your temperature twice a day (morning and evening). Fever means having a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher. The company has secured a limited supply of 1,000 personal re-usable thermometers and they are available in crew centres now. The personal thermometer is re-usable and instructions on how to use, clean and carefully store it are included.

In solidarity,

We are writing to let you know that we fully understand how difficult the waiting and wondering is with the myriad questions that you have relating to the Canada Emergency Care Benefit (CERB) and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) programs.

We want to let you know that we continue to have talks with the employer to ensure that the interests of the members are fully served. These talks continue and will continue throughout the Easter weekend, as required.  We promise you that as soon as there is information to share you will be the first ones privy to it.   We fully understand that this requires patience on your part and thank you for your ongoing support.

You want answers. We want to provide clear and comprehensive answers to all of your questions.  These will follow as soon as they are available, including over the weekend as needed.

In solidarity,

We have received countless emails today since the announcement of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program, which is still subject to Government approval. We are working tirelessly with the Company to work out the finer details of this program and will provide further updates shortly.

We do want to clarify that members will have the option to opt-out of receiving wages through the CEWS program, and apply for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), if they are better served financially through CERB. Members cannot receive both a wage through the CEWS and CERB benefits, but can select one of the options depending on which program offers a better financial benefit.

Under this arrangement members will:

• Be returned onto Air Canada’s payroll
• Receive a maximum of $847 per week
• Receive health care benefit continuation (as per the Collective Agreement)
• Have pension contributions deducted based on all amounts paid and receive pensionable service
• See the stop of employee wage claw back deductions during this period
• See the stop of employee uniform deductions during this period
• Be given the option to receive wages under the CEWS program or to remain on off-duty status without pay, and apply for the CERB

This arrangement will cease on the earlier of June 6, 2020 OR when a member is recalled back to work.  Mitigation discussions will continue, as presently the CEWS program is only available until June 5, 2020.

We also want to remind members that per diems and other allowances are not considered income, as they are to reimburse you for an employment cost. This is why they are not taxed or subject to other deductions.

We understand that there are many questions and we are working to provide more details.  We appreciate your patience at this time.

In solidarity,