Ottawa takes hard line on Air Canada labor disputes

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada promised on Friday that it would do what was needed to keep Air Canada flying, a day after it headed off a simultaneous strike and lockout by referring two disputes at the country's largest airline to a federal tribunal.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said a shutdown at Air Canada would hit the whole Canadian economy, which remains fragile as it recovers from recession.

"As much as a side of me doesn't like to do this, I think these actions are essential to keep the airline flying," Harper told reporters at Toronto's downtown island airport.

"My concern is not management or labor, my concern is the Canadian broader public, and I think the broader Canadian public overwhelmingly expects the government to act."

On Thursday, the government asked the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to consider whether a disruption at Air Canada would pose a health and safety risk.

There can be no industrial action while the board reviews that sort of case, so the move prevented both a scheduled strike by machinists and a planned Air Canada lockout of its 3,000 pilots.

The office of Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said the government was readying back-to-work legislation to be used in the event of a work stoppage. The government argues that Air Canada provides an essential service and is important to the economy.

Either a strike or a lockout would have grounded Air Canada during the annual spring break, a busy travel season.

Last fall the government asked the CIRB to rule on whether a different Air Canada labor dispute posed a risk to public health and safety. But the two sides agreed to arbitration before the board could issue a ruling.

Pilots' union President Paul Strachan said the union would not voluntarily agree to arbitration.

"Arbitration, in our experience, is not a good way for the pilots and Air Canada to come to resolutions, simply because the agreement is so complex," he said. "It almost looks like a mini King James Bible."

Air Canada, which flies to some 150 destinations, wants to launch a low cost-carrier, which it sees as key to sustainable profitability. The pilots fear those plans will hurt their job security and wages.

The pilots bargaining committee said it will present Air Canada's last offer to its members for a vote next week, though the union has recommended against acceptance. The union also expects to meet with the CIRB to determine a schedule for future discussions.

CIRB Executive Director Ginette Brazeau said it is hard to forecast how long the board's review will take.

"There are so many permutations that are possible, but when I look at our records of the past three years or so, I see that cases involving essential service take approximately, on average, 60ish days," she said.

Montreal-based Air Canada won government support for a pension payment moratorium in 2009, as the cash-strapped airline sought to waive payments for two years while it struggled with a cash crunch and a sharp downturn in travel demand, and Harper made it clear that had factored into the government's decision.

"Air Canada came to us during the economic crisis, during the global crisis, and asked specifically for government assistance in a number of areas because of the dangers that shutting down (the) airline would represent to the Canadian economy," Harper told reporters in Toronto.

"I'll be darned if we will now sit by and let the airline shut itself down."

Air Canada said the lines of communication are open. Both unions said there have been no talks since before Raitt's CIRB referral.

(Additional reporting by Claire Sibonney, Allison Martell and Louise Egan; Editing by Janet Guttsman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ottawa-takes-hard-line-air-canada-labor-disputes-225605256.html

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