The planes of Air Canada won’t be grounded after all. The largest airliner in Canada announced on Sunday that it came to a tentative agreement for a new four-year collective deal with the pilots’ union, thus avoiding a previously announced strike.
Air Canada and Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 5,200 pilots who work for the airliner, have been negotiating a new deal for more than a year. At one point, it seemed that the two sides were unable to reach common ground, and a strike was widely expected to come into effect later this week.
The strike would cause a major disturbance to Canada’s aviation industry, considering Air Canada handles 670 flights that serve over 100,000 passengers on a daily basis.
However, Air Canada and the union made one last effort to find a compromise over the weekend and finally struck a deal that both sides feel comfortable with. The deal will now be put up for a vote by (ALPA) members and, if approved, will come into effect next month.
The new collective agreement is expected to narrow the pay gap between Air Canada pilots and their counterparts in the United States. It is expected to also bring improvements in work conditions and better retirement benefits.
“After several consecutive weeks of intense round-the-clock negotiations, progress was made on several key issues, including compensation, retirement, and work rules,” said Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council, in a statement.