days until our Collective Agreement expires, we are preparing, we are united and we will make change.

As A Matter Of Fact – Tip Of The Week – Company Policies

There may be times when it is difficult to navigate the numerous policies that the Company creates. It is generally known that employers do have the right to develop rules and policies for the workplace. It is, however, very important to keep in mind that it is not an absolute right. The Union will sometimes take issue with a new or amended policy and you will often see policy grievances filed to address those concerns. A classic decision for the principles relevant to a review of an employer rule or policy is KVP Co. Ltd. (1965), 16 LAC 73. Its basic principles include the following:

  • Employers have the right to issue a wide variety of rules, as long as they are not in conflict with the Collective Agreement (as well as relevant legislation including Human Rights legislation).
  • Rules must be reasonable and easily understood. They must be made known to employees and administered fairly and consistently.
  • An employer cannot rely solely on employer rules in meting out discipline. Rather, the employer must demonstrate that the discipline was for just and reasonable cause.

As A Matter Of Fact – Tip Of The Week – Probationary Period

Article 11.03 of our Collective Agreement states “The Company reserves the sole right to make any decisions with respect to the discharge, discipline or retention of an employee during this probationary period”. This generally means that probationary employees can be terminated without the employer having to establish a “just cause” for their dismissal.

There are limits to this right, however, and although an employer may terminate a unionized probationary employee for less than “just cause,” there are still limits on terminations in these scenarios. For example, a unionized probationary employee must not be terminated in an arbitrary or discriminatory fashion nor can the employee be terminated in bad faith. If you are a probationary employee and have questions about this feel free to reach out to your Local Office.

Component Officers’ Webinar

Your Component Officers will be hosting a live webinar on Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 16:00 EDT for one hour. The webinar will be hosted on Zoom and can be accessed through a computer, tablet, or smart phone. There will also be an audio-only option available through telephone dial-in.

The Webinar is open to any of our members that wish to participate, active or inactive, Mainline or Rouge.

As the capacity of the webinar will be 500 people, we will be asking those of you interested in participating to register in advance. If the demand is greater than 500, we will hold further webinars in the near future to ensure that everyone is able to participate.

If you are interested in joining us we ask that you register in advance via the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aXEuQpyARjS3qwsPtc0Obg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

We encourage you to send your questions in ahead of time so that we can make the hour as productive as possible.  Please send them to contact@accomponent.ca.

As we are having a Component Executive meeting in the near future, we wanted to ensure that our commitment to stay in touch was maintained.  As you may be aware, in the past we had meet and greet sessions planned around the time of the Component Executive meetings. We want to continue to hear from the membership about the issues that concern them. We have received great feedback from the members on this and we are hoping that the webinar proves to be well received and a welcome addition to our communication strategy.

In solidarity,

As A Matter Of Fact – Tip Of The Week – Maternity & Paternity Leave

For those of you who are considering having a child or are expecting a child the Component has a Women’s Committee that can provide up to date information on work options and rules while you are pregnant and the maternity and/or paternity leave process. Their email address is womens@accomponent.ca. You can also find resources here:

Website:
https://accomponent.ca/ > Resources > Maternity Documents > From Here to Maternity in English or French

Mobile App:
Resources > Maternity Documents > From Here to Maternity in English and French

Component Update for the Week of July 13, 2020

Below are some updates from your Component Officers on a variety of issues:

Footwear Allowance – Article 7.03.04
Many of you have reached out regarding the footwear allowance, and why some have received it and others have not.  We have confirmed with Air Canada that this will be paid out on July 17, 2020 to all members who were “actively flying” in the June 2020 block month.  If you were not actively flying, i.e.: you were on CERB/CEWS or offline for other reasons, you will not have the footwear allowance on this cheque.  Once you are recalled or return to active flying duties, you will be able to claim for the footwear allowance, and the company will pay it.

Recalls – August 2020
The Company has confirmed there will be no recalls for August 2020 at this time.

August 2020 Block Month           
Due to the extensive change in Air Canada’s flying schedule for August 2020, the Company has advised the Union that they will be changing the block month to 80:00 hours, down from 85:00.

COVID Confirmed Passengers
We have had a recent spike regarding COVID Confirmed Passengers on our flights and wanted to go over the process with everyone, so the expectations are known and understood.  Once Air Canada/Air Canada Rouge is made aware of a confirmed case onboard one of our aircrafts, they will reach out and notify each cabin crew member on the plane (operating or deadheading).  The Union is also notified, and in turn we also reach out, by email, to each member to advise them of options they have to follow the WSIB/WCB path if required, as well to ensure the Union is notified if you need any assistance or if you test positive to COVID-19.  Each case that is reported to Air Canada/Air Canada Rouge is followed up with by a group within management that ensures you are made aware.  Once you are notified, you will be removed from active duty for 14 days from the date of you being onboard the aircraft with the COVID positive passenger.  You will receive full pay protection on this.

Air Canada Rouge
We have had many members reach out with regards to Rouge flying and advertisements for Rouge.  At this time, we are not aware of any operational start-ups at Rouge.  If we receive any concrete information, we will keep the membership informed.

USA and HKG Flights
In discussions with many members, we are hearing hourly the concerns you have operating and deadheading into and through the United States, as well as to Hong Kong due to COVID testing.  The Company has advised that the same process will take place for all flights landing in and departing from the United States of America.

i) If a BLOCKHOLDER does not want to risk going to Hong Kong – HKG or the United States, can they decline to go?
If a block holder does not want to operate their pairing to HKG or the USA, Air Canada will show you as unavailable no fault (CODE 519). You can then make up the hours the same day or any other day. Your MMG (Minimum Monthly Guarantee) is waived and you will get paid what you fly for the block month.

ii) If a RESERVE does not want to risk going to Hong Kong – HKG or the United States, can they decline to go?
Reserve members will revert back to reserve status, with no MMG reduction.  Just advise the crew scheduler you are not comfortable to go, and they will not place you onto the assignment.

Your Union is available if there are any complications with this process, please email us anytime at 247@accomponent.ca.

In solidarity,