The federal labour minister said Tuesday he is still “very optimistic” that a strike by Air Canada pilots can be averted through negotiations before the start of next week.
Steve MacKinnon told reporters outside the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, British Columbia, that some “significant issues” remain unresolved but progress has been made in talks between Air Canada and the airline pilots union, despite both sides suggesting negotiations had effectively stalled in recent weeks.
“There is absolutely no reason why these parties cannot reach a negotiated agreement,” the minister said.
“My position is that they need to do the work necessary to relieve Canadians of the considerable uncertainty that this causes with respect to travel, with respect to economic issues, and to put in the effort, work hard and come to an agreement.”
Air Canada said Monday it is working on plans to begin suspending operations ahead of a potential strike or lockout, which could begin as early as Sept. 18.
Unless an agreement is reached by Sunday, September 15, the airline or the union could issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice.
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Flight cancellations could begin as early as Friday if no deal is reached by then, the airline said.
ALPA said Monday that negotiations “continue to move slowly, if at all,” and announced plans to open strike headquarters in Toronto on Thursday in anticipation of a work stoppage.
MacKinnon did not say Tuesday whether he intended to intervene in the dispute similar to his decision to seek binding arbitration and return-to-work orders to resolve the rail shutdown late last month.
“Our commitment is to collective bargaining and we want to make sure that these parties are very, very focused on getting an agreement around the table,” the minister said.
The government made similar comments ahead of the lockout notice issued by CN Rail and CPKC amid stalled negotiations with the rail workers union, and only announced it would intervene less than 24 hours after the lockout began.
The rail shutdown lasted four days while the Canadian Labour Relations Board reviewed and approved the government’s request. The Teamsters union has appealed Ottawa’s intervention.
Air Canada said the work stoppage could affect 110,000 passengers a day.
The Air Line Pilots Association has not set a date for the strike, but pilots have voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike mandate if an agreement on a new contract cannot be reached.
— with files from Uday Rana of Global
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