An industry-best 5-year agreement for Airbus Canada union members

(Mirabel, QC, Wednesday, 1 May, 2024) – Members of Airbus Canada, IAM Local Lodge 712, voted 77.14 per cent in favour of their new contract. Nearly 81 per cent of the 1,300 workers cast ballots in the vote, which ran from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.

In addition to the changes proposed by the conciliator from the Direction générale des relations de travail, the new contract includes most of the terms of the agreement in principle presented on April 21.

‘Despite the favourable outcome, these negotiations have generated a great deal of frustration, some scars will remain and the employer will have some things to repair in the coming months to restore a good working climate,’ explained Éric Rancourt, union spokesperson at the bargaining table and IAM Canada representative for Quebec.

‘Although the contract does not include any wage rollbacks, our members would have appreciated more openness from the employer on scheduling and work-family balance,’ says Christian Bertrand, President of Local Lodge 712.

‘Now that these negotiations are behind us, we must look to the future and demonstrate once again that it is our know-how and skills that make the A220 programme a success,’ says Rancourt.

A difficult end to negotiations

The day after the rejection of the agreement in principle, the employer had no intention of resuming negotiations. To break the impasse and bring the employer back to the bargaining table, IAM representatives requested the services of a mediator/conciliator on April 23. This request was followed by two intensive days of conciliation at the offices of the Direction générale des relations de travail on April 25 and 26. The conciliator then submitted his report and settlement proposals to the parties on April 29.

‘The fact that the employer stated that it would launch a lock-out if the conciliator’s recommendations were rejected left a bitter taste in the mouths of many workers,’ concludes Éric Rancourt.