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

Bill C-4 Follow Up

As a follow-up to the bulletin we issued on October 1, 2020 (Click HERE to view), Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on Friday, October 2, 2020, following passage in the Senate. We are pleased that this bill has been passed offering our members COVID-19 Leave options.

We were in regular communication with Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge as we heard from so many members who needed to know when the policy that aligns with these programs would be published.  Air Canada has provided their official COVID-19 Leave policy and an FAQ document. These documents can be found on Aeronet in the HR Connex portal under the COVID-19 Mitigations Tab at the top of the page. They can also be found by clicking HERE for the Policy, and HERE for the FAQ document.  The Air Canada Rouge policy will apparently mirror the Mainline policy and should be available soon.  Your Union has followed up and will continue to do so until the policy is posted for all members.

If you intend to apply for the benefit provided by the Federal Government, it is important that you review the criteria of these benefits fully. We continue to work with CUPE National and are engaged in efforts to have a liaison with Employment and Social Development Canada who specialises in the unique nature of our workforce and to help navigate applications for these benefits.  We will provide updates on this as soon as they are available to us.

If you have not already applied for the COVID-19 Leave, and you meet the eligibility requirements, you can do so by submitting a request through the eLeaves tool at Air Canada Mainline or by emailing Chelsea at askrouge@aircanada.ca if you are working at Air Canada Rouge. If you have any questions about this leave or the implications relating to pension, benefits, etc. we recommend that you read through the Q and A document as it is quite comprehensive. If you have remaining questions you can reach out to your Local Office.

In solidarity,

As A Matter Of Fact – Tip Of The Week – Safety Pulse Survey

Here’s a great way to have your say about general safety issues during COVID times.

Last week Air Canada launched its biannual Safety Pulse Survey, which is used to gather important safety information directly from its employees.  We encourage you to participate, as the survey is confidential and in the past we have seen positive change based on our members concerns. You can find a link to the survey in your Air Canada email. The deadline to complete the survey is by 15:00 EDT on Wednesday, October 14, 2020.

Company Policy Regarding US Flights

On September 18th the company abruptly announced that it was changing its policy regarding US flights effective the October block month such that our members will no longer be able to opt out of flights to US destinations regardless of how they bid.

Unlike the lengthy and proper discussion prior to implementing the “opt-out policy” back in July, the Union was provided almost no advance notice before this announced. There was no consultation.

The company’s memo stated “Following our Flight Path behaviour of Safety First, Always, we’ve since implemented measures on-board our aircraft to ensure the safety of you, your colleagues and our customers. These measures include passenger screening, mandatory masks on board and customer temperature screening, in addition to making the necessary PPE available to all crew members.

We did a quick fact check and to be perfectly clear – all of these protections were already in place prior to the policy coming into effect. The company’s statement that these are recent improvements simply isn’t true.

Late March / Early April TC instates requirements for screening of passengers at check-in
20APR2020 Masks are mandatory onboard
05JUN2020 Temperature checks for passengers implemented at gates
12JUN2020 All current PPE was in place
15JUL2020 Policy comes into effect

What does the data say about the US situation?

The pandemic is an evolving situation and the Union felt it was prudent to verify the situation at the US destinations scheduled for October service.  What we found is that the US is experiencing dramatically different infection rates depending on State and even city lines.

Since the company’s policy was implemented on 15JUL2020 the U.S. National 7-day average infection rate has fallen from 61,892.00 to 43,111 (28SEP2020).

We looked into the 7-day infection rates per 100K inhabitants for all the US destinations we are flying to in the month of October.  For the October block month there are layovers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Orlando. There are flights (no layovers) to Fort Myers, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale.

Currently some fall close to the range of levels being seen in Ontario and Quebec. However, Los Angeles, Orlando, Tampa and especially Las Vegas continue to trend well above levels being seen at any of our Canadian, and many other international destinations grappling with the virus.  It should also be noted that Quebec is currently at the start of a partial lockdown due to its daily infection rate.

For your reference, as of 29SEP2020 here are the figures (source New York Times):

 

What is the Union doing?

The Union continues to impress upon the company the importance of recognizing the fact that things are not back to normal, no matter how much we would all like them to be. Layovers include hazards that extend beyond the aircraft where it is easier to control the overall environment. We will continue to encourage responsible and safe methods for the re-opening of air travel. However, this must take into account the different circumstances we all face, which affect our individual susceptibility to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Forcing a blanket policy that “things are safe” won’t accomplish this and undermines our collective efforts to instill confidence in the travel industry, both amongst employees and customers.

What can you do?

We would like to remind you that you have a variety of PPE available to you from the employer, for use while at work and on layover. You can find the PPE guide on ACAeronet > ePub > PPE tile

The safest option on layover is to remain on the hotel premises, to always keep your physical distance between others to 2m +, wear a face covering, limit the duration of contact with others, avoid group activities, and wash your hands frequently for 20s+ or use a hand sanitizer.

You always have the right to KNOW, PARTICIPATE, AND REFUSE DANGEROUS WORK. We encourage all our members to file a health and safety complaint e-report. It really does help us help you when things are officially reported as it generates statistics and documents the many specific examples you have.

Information about the right to refuse dangerous work can be obtained by emailing rtr@accomponent.ca.

In solidarity,

Financial Support for Airlines

Message from CUPE:

Air Canada flight attendant union says rapid testing needed to save airline jobs, industry

The union representing flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge is calling on the federal government to administer rapid testing at airports, to make flying safer and to save jobs in the airline industry.

The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants, says COVID-19 has decimated the industry and without federal action, thousands of jobs will permanently disappear. The union says a bailout alone won’t help the industry since it won’t make flying safer. However, the union is suggesting that if passengers were tested prior to boarding from out-of-country destinations, this would ensure a safer flying environment for the public and airline workers alike.

“The Canadian economy relies on a strong airline industry, and it’s key to keeping communities and families connected,” said Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE. “People need to travel for work and families want to reunite, but they also want to know it’s safe to fly. Approving rapid 15-minute tests at the airport will help address both these problems and stimulate travel.”

Some airlines have taken advantage of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and EI Top-Up to help keep their furloughed and active employees on full payroll during the pandemic but others, like Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, have not. Lesosky says tens of thousands of jobs are at stake, and will disappear without government action, but reiterated that the government has options to support workers and their families even if it is reluctant to offer direct support to the industry.

“We don’t know how long we’ll be living with the coronavirus,” said Lesosky. “But what we do know is that without rapid testing, it’s possible our industry and many others won’t ever recover.”

Since the outset of the pandemic, CUPE has maintained that any government support to the airline industry should have significant carve-outs and guarantees for supporting workers, rather than protecting only corporate bottom lines. CUPE also maintains that any government assistance should come with a stake in the companies.

CUPE represents 15,000 flight attendants nationwide at nine different airlines.
– – – – – –

Dear Members,

As most of you are aware, other airline unions, representing the pilots at Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, WestJet, and Sunwing, held a press conference today in Toronto asking for financial support for the airlines from the Federal Government. CUPE was approached by Air Canada to take part in this and had questions regarding the CEWS program, EI Top Up and other government funded programs the company could currently be taking a part in. We feel some sort of guarantee from either the Government or Air Canada that workers will be top of mind if any public funds are provided is necessary.  Any bailout needs to take care of workers before the company’s bottom line.

The reality is the Government has an opportunity to make positive change to our industry, through financial assistance, rapid testing prior to departure into Canada and reviewing restrictions currently imposed.

The bottom line is this must be done safely, for our members, the general public and Canadians alike.  With government assistance afforded to many other major carriers throughout the world, we need to ensure we are kept at par, and supported by our government leaders in the same way.

In solidarity,

COVID-19 Update: Denial of Services and Quarantine Enforcement Calls

The Union met again with the PHAC on September 23, 2020. We wish to provide an update about our ongoing work to resolve denial of services for our members and emails/calls from quarantine enforcement agents.

Denial of services:
The PHAC raised this issue on September 18, 2020, at the Health Professionals Forum, a group of the professional associations and colleges in the healthcare sector that meet throughout the year with senior government officials. They were asked to come back with suggestions about how to best resolve this issue. The PHAC will be following up with them this week. A call is being scheduled between the PHAC and provincial health agencies to explore a similar conversation.

Meanwhile the Union heard from its members that it would be helpful to have a letter from the company confirming the exemption and the measures in place to protect employees from COVID-19.  We requested that the company issue such a letter and are pleased that one is now available. This will be posted on Aeronet shortly.

Concerns about email Scams:
The Union has advised the PHAC that many members have been unsure if the emails they receive are legitimate or not. The agency is reviewing this internally.

The PHAC advises that any legitimate emails from their agency will be sent from an address ending in @CANADA.CA . You should ensure that the word “Canada” is spelled correctly as scammers will often add or subtract a letter in order to make the email appear legitimate.

The federal government also maintains a website with information about all known COVID-19 fraud and scams:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/campaigns/covid19.html#h-1

How to stop quarantine enforcement emails/calls:
The PHAC and CBSA have reviewed their data and the bulk of the problem lies with the use of the paper form.  These forms are processed along with thousands from passengers. If the section related to your exemption isn’t circled or the processing agent misses it, your name will be forwarded to the PHAC’s quarantine enforcement branch.

To reduce emails/calls, it is highly preferable to use the CBSA’s ArriveCan app, which has recently been fixed.

  1. Download the ArriveCan app for free on Google Play and Apple App Store .
  2. Create a profile on the app. This will be saved for future use.
  3. Complete the quarantine questionnaire using the app upon return from your flight.
  4. Show your submission receipt to the CBSA officer. They will provide you with a 3-digit code.
  5. Once you enter the 3 digit-code into the appropriate box, your exemption from the mandatory quarantine provision is confirmed by a blue E with a checkmark.

 

If you choose to complete the paper form, the PHAC advises it is more likely your name will end up on the quarantine enforcement email/call lists. To reduce those chances, they advise the following:

  1. Fill out the following highlighted fields (see below)
  2. Under Type of Travel document, write Passport
  3. Under Type of exempt travel, clearly circle Trade or transport services.
  4. Remind the customs officer as you pass through that you need to be processed as EXEMPT for trade or transport services.

If you start getting emails/calls from quarantine agents:

  • Don’t ignore them. This may cause the agent to escalate your file.
  • When you speak to the agent use the language that you are exempt from the quarantine due to work in transport services.
  • Let them know that you are in possession of a letter issued by Transport Canada to the CEO of Air Canada confirming this exemption (ePub>Covid-19 bulletins).
  • The PHAC has worked with their enforcement department to ensure that calls won’t escalate, however take note that the agent cannot remove your name from the list. This must be done by contacting the agency that flagged you (CBSA).
  • CBSA can be reached as follows:
    • contact@cbsa.gc.ca or 1-800-461-9999
    • Ensure to state your name, employer (AC/Rouge), occupation (cabin crew), flight date and number, and the fact that you are receiving quarantine enforcement calls despite being exempted due to work in transport services.

If a law enforcement officer presents themselves at your residence:

The Union, PHAC and CBSA are all aware that a small number of our members have received enforcement visits from the Police. It appears that some officers are unaware of our exempted status. The Union, PHAC and CBSA are collaborating to resolve this.

In the meantime, please ensure to have your TC and company exemption letter handy as well as your employee ID.

It is extremely important to notify the union of any such occurrence so we can continue our efforts to resolve this on behalf of the membership.

In Solidarity,