TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE IAMAW
WORKING AT AIR CANADA AND AVEOS
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
On November 16, the union met with both companies in Toronto to deal with some outstanding issues involving preferential hiring and the movement of members.
There seems to be some confusion relating to the arbitration award on preferential hiring issued by Chief Arbitrator Martin Teplitsky on November 11, 2011.
The union questioned Aveos on severance pay for members who are going to be laid off. The company informed us of the following:
– If the expected layoff period is of 12 months or more, members will be eligible for severance pay as identified in the Labour Code and the Collective Agreement.
– If the expected layoff period is less than 12 months, members will be eligible for severance pay only once the 12-month period has been met.
The union is aware that Aveos has not committed to the preferential hiring of members who are about to be laid off and that they intend to apply Article 4.02 to its fullest extent. The company has not denied this. We advised them that there have been previous awards on this article and that, in our opinion, they are about to exceed their ability to use this article. The union will be contacting the arbitrator to set up a date to deal with this violation.
Lately, under the guise of good business decisions, Aveos has not been forthcoming with information or completely honest in their answers to the union and the membership. On several occasions, when asked about their manpower, they have given us the same reply: “status quo”. It was through our membership and not from the company that we found out about their intent concerning Article 4.02, which will have a detrimental affect on specific categories.
We advise you to be careful when answering questions from Aveos, as there could be underlying implications attached to the answers you may give. Please note that the union does not participate in any company-driven initiatives such as Lean or Six Sigma, since these can only lead to layoffs of our members.
In solidarity,
Tony Didoshak
General Chairperson, Western Region
BULLETIN NO. 091 – ISSUED NOVEMBER 21, 2011
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