The Minister of Transport has announced that effective 23:30 on 22APR21 a NOTAM is being issued by Transport Canada suspending passenger travel between India, Pakistan and Canada for 30 days.

While this may be a welcome relief for some concerned members, we wish to remind them that the Union has been raising the DEL route as a particular concern for many months. Concerns specific to DEL that the Union has heard and raised with the company are likely to remain problematic even after a 30-day pause. If you have concerns but haven’t yet filed a report, it is still important to do so. Select a health and safety complaint e-report on sims.aircanada.ca or using the iPad if you are an in-charge.

Concerns we have heard:

• Almost daily notifications of positive cases on the DEL-YVR and DEL-YYZ flights (31 in March and 17 so far in April). Some of these flights included multiple exposures.
• Difficulty maintaining sanitary lavatory facilities, despite a refusal on the part of the company to dedicate a lavatory to crew as recommended by multiple industry and regulatory bodies.
• Concerns about the legitimacy of COVID-19 molecular test results, based on customer comments, media reports as well as warnings from the Canadian government’s own consular services in India.
• The impossibility of maintaining any sort of physical distancing on full flights where passengers insist on roaming around the cabin.
• Serious difficulties achieving compliance with masking requirements, over-and-above those our members report on other routes.
• Reports that passengers are allowed to board using scarves, pieces of fabric, repurposed garments, neck gators etcetera, none of which fall into the permitted category of facial coverings for transport on Canadian aircraft. Our members tell us that customers don’t seem to have had Canadian masking requirements explained to them, resulting in especially onerous duties onboard for our language speakers and fellow crew, further exposing them to the COVID-19 hazard.
• A clear message from members that service levels must be re-considered on this route as many of the mitigation measures implemented as part of service re-introduction in 2020 cannot be relied upon or just don’t work.
• Overall concerns about exposure to COVID-19 both on the aircraft and while on layover in DEL.

In solidarity,

Air Canada has published and dispersed a policy on vaccinations. Click HERE to view the policy. We have provided our feedback to Air Canada and raised areas of potential concern.  As with any new policy that is imposed by the company it must be reasonable and must be consistent with the Collective Agreement.   We have reminded Air Canada of the requirement for any policy to align with Collective Agreement language and the Canadian Human Rights Act.  In our opinion this includes any and all relevant Human Rights legislation. We have consulted with our legal counsel and will consult with them on the subsequent implementation, application and enforcement of this policy.

The company has prepared a COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ document which can be viewed HERE.

In solidarity,

Please see this month’s Seniority List Update. As previously mentioned, we will resume more regular updates now that recalls have resumed.

Updated Seniority List
Your Union has updated the seniority list with the most recent recalls and retirements using information provided by Air Canada. The list is now based on your 2021 Master Cabin Personnel Seniority number.

The Union was made aware of many duplications of members on the recently posted list.  This has been corrected by Air Canada, and has been reposted on the portal.

*** Please note there may be errors or omissions, if you are aware of any please contact your union. You will also note that those members on leaves but senior enough to avoid layoff will be coded as Active ***

Click HERE for an Updated Seniority List as of the April 2021 Block Month.

Retirements 
In addition, please see the current retirement numbers below.  You can also view full details over the past three years by clicking HERE.

In solidarity,

The Union is happy to announce that the Company has just advised us that there will be 357 recall notices going out shortly for Cabin Crew positions at Air Canada Mainline. Those recalled to Air Canada Mainline will be recalled back to their home base.

The recalls to Mainline will take effect for the May 2021 block month and you must accept your recall within 7 days. The most junior member being recalled has a 2021 seniority of 12095.

All members being recalled will be notified via registered letter.  Please note that due to COVID-19, there may be some delays in these letters reaching you. To compensate for this the Company will also be advising all those recalled via Company email and a courtesy phone call.  Please check your recall notice for more details.

As a reminder the Collective Agreement says the following about recalls:

17.16.02  An employee on laid-off status shall be notified by the applicable company, of the first available assignment either at Air Canada Mainline or at Air Canada Rouge to which his/her seniority entitles him. Failure to advise the applicable company within seven (7) calendar days of the registered postmark date of his/her desire to be considered for the assignment shall disqualify him for the assignment.

Recall notice shall be sent by registered mail to the last address filed with the company.

The Company will reach out to you via registered letter to the last address you have listed with the employer.  You have 7 calendar days to reply to the employer if you intend on accepting your recall, from the date the letter was post marked.  We have been advised that the letters will go out April 15, 2021.

Do I have to accept a position back to my home base?  Can I decline the recall coming back to where I was laid off from?
As per Article 17.16.04 the following is applicable:

17.16.04  If the employee is notified of a permanent assignment at the point of layoff, s/he must accept, and report for duty within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date notice was sent. An acceptance of permanent assignment at other than the point of layoff shall be optional for the individual concerned; however, should s/he accept, s/he shall report for duty within twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date of registered postmark. This time limit may be extended by Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge, as applicable, under extenuating circumstances.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us for clarity on the process or any concerns that you may have.

In solidarity,