OTTAWA (Reuters) – Round 100 enterprise teams on Wednesday urged Ottawa to stop a strike by Air Canada pilots, saying a stoppage would disrupt provide chains and spoil Canada’s fame as a dependable accomplice.
Air Canada mentioned on Monday it was finalizing plans to droop most of its operations as quickly as talks with the pilots’ union had been nearing an deadlock over “rigid” wage calls for. The union says the airline wants “to get severe on the bargaining desk.”
In a letter to Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, the teams famous he had stepped in rapidly final month to halt a stoppage on the nation’s two predominant rail firms, forcing workers again to work and imposing binding arbitration.
“The federal authorities must take decisive motion. The impacts of a labor disruption at Air Canada will ripple all through the economic system,” they mentioned.
“Ought to the events not come to a negotiated settlement, the federal authorities should… be ready to behave upfront to stop yet one more damaging disruption by referring the matter to binding arbitration the place a impartial arbitrator can resolve any excellent points.”
A strike might begin as quickly as Sept 18. In a press release, MacKinnon’s workplace mentioned Ottawa believed within the collective bargaining course of.
Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge, collectively function practically 670 flights per day. A shutdown might have an effect on 110,000 passengers each day.
“If Canadian companies are unable to ship our items to market on time, our worldwide companions will start to hunt everlasting options,” the enterprise teams warned. A strike “will reinforce a rising notion that Canada isn’t a dependable buying and selling accomplice.”