Recently the Union was advised that the “Employee Care Team” at Air Canada Mainline was advising members that Severance Payments were coming out in 4-6 months.
Once we were advised of this through official means, we were able to immediately advise Labour Relations of this.
We were advised yesterday, June 3, 2021, that the employer is attempting to get all members paid by manual cheque mailed to your address on file in accordance with that timeline. The replies with 4-6 months were not correct, and this was confirmed yesterday.
In our opinion Section 247 of the Canada Labour Code is clear that the amount should be paid within 30 days of the anniversary of the layoff:
Payment of wages
247 Except as otherwise provided by or under this Part, an employer shall
(a) pay to any employee any wages to which the employee is entitled on the regular pay-day of the employee as established by the practice of the employer; and
(b) pay any wages or other amounts to which the employee is entitled under this Part within thirty days from the time when the entitlement to the wages or other amounts arose.
Thank you to all the members that sent us the official communication. Please remember, it’s always faster to reach out directly to your Union to ensure we can deal with your concerns promptly. We will have regular updates on this with the employer, and if there are any further issues they will be communicated.
In solidarity,
