EXCLUSIVE-Air Canada labor deal faces fierce opposition over wages, vote could fail

By Kyaw Soe Oo, Allison Lampert and Rajesh Kumar Singh

Aug 22 (Reuters) - Many Air Canada AC.TO flight attendants are dissatisfied with wage increases in a tentative agreement that ended a crippling strike earlier this week and the deal may not win approval from union members, cabin crew and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Five flight attendants interviewed by Reuters said they plan to vote against the agreement because it fails to provide a living wage to entry-level workers and does not fully address concerns about lack of payment for hours spent waiting for a flight. The leader of the union acknowledged many members were frustrated with the deal, which was hailed initially as a union victory.

That sentiment was echoed on social media posts by people who said they were flight attendants, although Reuters could not confirm their identity.

Flight attendants defied government efforts to end the strike, forcing Air Canada back to the bargaining table, where negotiators struck a deal to end the four-day action that stranded half a million passengers. This raised hopes that Canada's biggest airline had agreed to pay crews for time spent on the ground for duties such as boarding passengers rather than just when the plane is moving.

The proposed contract made some gains, but as details were disclosed it became clear there were limits to the ground pay offered. This frustrated many participants attending town hall-style meetings, one attendant said.

A source familiar with the matter said it was not clear whether the vote would pass.

Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) that represents flight attendants, said he understood members' frustration. He said that when the government said it would order flight attendants into forced arbitration, the union faced the dilemma of trying to protect gains secured at the bargaining table, with a desire to give members the chance to vote on the deal.

"If it's turned down, the wage portion of the tentative agreement will be resolved at arbitration; the remaining items will move forward," as the agreement, he said.

"The union fought hard to get the company to agree to move the wage piece forward in isolation from the other items, and we feel we were successful because our members held strong on picket lines."

Flight attendants voting from Aug. 27 to Sept. 6, cannot legally strike again if they reject the offer, the union said. But voting against the contract would prolong talks in a dispute that caused Air Canada to withdraw financial guidance for the year.

Air Canada's offer still is not "liveable," said one flight attendant who asked not to be named.

While there has been some reporting of social media posts, Reuters is the first to interview multiple flight attendants and sources who explained why they oppose the plan and suggest the vote might fail to get the required support from 50% plus one of the members.

CHEERS TO TEARS

The frustration of union members was obvious during a recent virtual meeting with members, one attendant said. She and others asked to speak anonymously due to company rules and said some attendants cried when they heard about the contract.

Over the four years, the gains would add up to roughly a 20% wage hike for entry-level flight attendants and 16% for more experienced cabin crew.

In addition to the hourly raise, crew would receive 60 minutes of pre-flight pay on narrowbody planes and 70 minutes on widebody jets, which have two aisles, with pay starting at 50% of flight attendants' hourly rate in year one, rising to 70% by year four.

One flight attendant with seven years' experience said she will vote no, citing wages and unpaid work. For example, she would still not be paid for a four-hour delay she recently faced on a recent transatlantic flight.