Air Canada dispatchers have become the second employee group to both ratify a tentative contract extension and endorse a conditional 21-month pension moratorium.
The decision by members of the Canadian Airlines Dispatchers Association (CALDA) follows a similar move by Air Canada customer service and sales agents, who are represented by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). CALDA represents 70 Air Canada dispatchers.
The CAW has established a multi-union memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining how the pension moratorium would work if approved by all five of Air Canada's unionised employee groups. Air Canada would defer pension contributions for 21 months, and after which, would make fixed payments between 2011 and 2013.
However, Air Canada still needs its three other unionized employee groups to ratify both contract extensions and pension deals. Ratification is outstanding with members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Air Canada flight attendants.
Air Canada is attempting to shore-up its liquidity to avoid a second formal restructuring this decade. As of 1 January, the carrier had an overall C$3.2 billion pension deficit, with estimated contributions for 2009 ranging from C$150-C$410 million.
Air Canada still needs the federal government to adopt an amendment to pension funding rules for the proposed moratoriums to take effect.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
