Air Canada and the CUPE Reach Tentative Deal
Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) reached a tentative agreement yesterday, just hours before the strike deadline.
The agreement is subject to CUPE members ratification at general meetings held across the nation as well as the Air Canada board of directors approval. Details of the agreement will be released as soon as the deal becomes official.
"The conclusion of a tentative agreement is welcome news for our customers and we want to thank them for their ongoing loyalty and support during this round of contract negotiations. It's business as usual and customers can continue to make their travel plans on Air Canada with confidence," said Susan Welscheid, Senior Vice President, Customer Service.
Flight attendants have been without a contract since March 31st, 2011 and the CUPE and Air Canada have been in major discussions since the CUPE members rejected a first tentative agreement in August.
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“The union’s executive committee will recommend that its members accept this tentative agreement”. He added that details about the deal would be made public only after the contract has been ratified by the unionized workers,” said CUPE President Jeff Taylor.
Air Canada flights have mainly remained unchanged. Air Canada Express service will return to its regular schedule on Thursday September 22nd.
The CUPE is Canada’s largest union with over 610,000 members and represents 9,500 members in air transport including employees at Air Transat, Calm Air, Air Canada, Canadian North, CanJet Airlines, Cathay Pacific, First Air and Porter.
