TO ALL IAMAW MEMBERS AT AIR CANADA
RE: SHIFT TRADES
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
As you know by now that Air Canada is at it again antagonizing our members. They have announced to your Union their intention to curtail shift trades and place you in some convoluted process of tracking and payments.
Shift trades in this company have been going on forever, without any issues. They are recognized in every industry as a flexible way for employees to meet grueling family schedules. They are a well, recognized practice accepted by the Federal Government even the Canada Revenue Agency for its employees. So, why now does Air Canada feel it necessary to interfere in the shift trade practices of our members?
The only answer that appears to be real but unspoken is, they want to have absolute control on the workforce! They want to cite the Canada Labour Code for hours of work in a quarter year (104) as their reason. Yet the Collective Agreement and the Canada Labour Code defines those hours as overtime and does not refer to shift trades.
Our full and part time members do shift trades so their lives can remain in balance to meet family requirements. Our part time members utilize shift trades so they can continue their education and or put food on the table and provide housing for their families.
April Fools is coming soon, and so is the Easter Bunny, however this is certainly no gift or joke! The company has indicated their new process will begin April 1, 2015 where they will zero everyone’s shift trade hours.
Is this a prelude to the next round of negotiations where they start now to control and bully our members? Is this the practice of decent employee/employer relationship building? No, it is exactly what it is “let’s violate people because we can”. No respect! Can we trust that there will be bargaining in good faith? Or is that just another joke?
On your behalf we have demanded full disclosure to you their employees. We have asked for certain documents to be produced that shows the so called interest of the Canada Revenue Agency in our shift trade practices. We have seen nothing from any Government Agency concerning shift trades and their calculation, nor have we seen anything pertaining to shift trades from the Canada Labour Canada that you can only shift trade to a maximum of 104 hours in a quarter. Our opinion is that this is a lame excuse for an interpretation of the law today, and yet for years no one has had any issues.
We will be discussing internally on what our next process will be in order to attempt to stop this grievous behaviour towards you our members.
If they say it’s raining we are going to the window to verify.
In solidarity,
Boyd Richardson
General Chairperson
Central Region
Gary Sinclair
General Chairperson
Central Region
