Updated: Mon Jul. 28 2008 11:02:37 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

Air Canada flight attendants are rallying in several cities this afternoon to pressure the airline to reverse its decision to close crew bases in Winnipeg and Halifax, slashing hundreds of jobs.

In Winnipeg, 300 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) took to the streets, saying they are not convinced Air Canada is losing as much money as it claims.

Another 150 people protested on Halifax's historic Grand Parade in front of city hall.

The airline -- along with carriers across the industry -- has complained of record losses due to soaring fuel prices and low passenger bookings.

"The union doesn't see it in that way. All of our flight attendants come back from their flights and all the planes are full, so Air Canada show us where you're losing money," Lesley Swann, CUPE president, told CTV's Canada AM.

"I think they're sort of grabbing onto the crisis, as they put it, on the oil prices and using it as an excuse to cut jobs."

In total, 630 flight attendants will lose their jobs by Nov. 1 as part of broader streamlining efforts announced June 17 to slash capacity by seven per cent and lay off up to 2,000 workers.

Though the Winnipeg and Halifax crew bases will be closed under the plan, bases in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal will remain.

However, Swann said the bases slated for closure are vital to the airline.

"Those base closures, Halifax and Winnipeg, are two centralized areas and these bases must remain open in order for the entire operation to run as smoothly as they can. Close those bases and Air Canada shuts down system-wide," she said.

Last week, the federal government denied a request by Air Canada for a waiver that would have allowed the company to lay off the flight attendants without the standard procedure of forming a joint union-company committee.

The committees are typically struck to minimize the impact of intended job cuts.

Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn rejected the request saying there were insufficient grounds for such a waiver.

Lisa Vivian Anthony, the local president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Halifax, called Blackburn's move "significant."

She told The Canadian Press that the union will be meeting with Air Canada on Thursday and Friday in a joint planning committee.

The government has offered the airline and the union access to mediators. Department officials have also been told to closely monitor the situation to ensure Air Canada employees are treated according to the requirements of the Canada Labour Code.

A representative of the airline told The Canadian Press the request was put forward in hopes the negotiations could take place under the framework of the collective agreement, rather than the Labour Code.

Blackburn had issued a warning to Air Canada, saying the request would be rejected if protections and supports in employee collective agreements weren't equal to or stronger than group termination provisions of the Canada Labour Code.

The code requires an employer to notify the minister 16 weeks ahead of time if it plans to lay off 50 or more workers within four weeks.

Air Canada has 24,000 employees.

With files from The Canadian Press

Comments are now closed for this story

pp
Another example of a large corporation that is NOT nimble emough to compete with changing economic times and consumer needs.

I also wonder if these attendants will go for having their lovely wages / pensions / benefits / perks etc removed / decreased to bring them inline with other institutions and thus generating cost savings for the corporation - not likely as I am sure the union would have something to say about that!

Employee costs are one of the hugest cost for a corporation and if you cannot control those costs then something has to give - esp when there are tough economic times ahead...

I really feel for these people but business is business....

bunny
Too late, the routes have been cut.

Glenn Carson
I support Airline Attendants, I really hope they keep (and fight)for their jobs! They, In my opinion deserve their perks too,with all that they have to put up with(rude passengers, drunks and general chumps), not to mention the training that is required!!

tapgcm
Any chance they can start the cutting with the attendants with the worst attitude? Of course that wouldn't leave many left would it? Perhaps they can bring some pleasant flight attendants from West Jet.

Stephen034
Why should Air Canada be any different than any business? Businesses cut staff all the time to save money if they're either losing money or want to make more money.

So it ends up as one worker doing the work of two or more, and if they don't like it, they're free to leave.

Companies rarely have loyalty to their employees and that's why more and more employees aren't loyal to their companies.

R uthie
Good times and bad. These are the bad, so live with it.

Ex AC Employee
Remember Canada 3000 and Canadian Airlines- both failed because of the unflexible unions and poor management. AC is on the same path. Tough times call for tough measures.

Wise Wajid
The plan to close Halifax is not new. When my son was hired 3 yrs ago, he told us then that Halifax would be shut down and moved to Toronto. That it was very unfortunate because Halifax is a very nice airport with a great staff. Downsizing hurts everyone. I was watching an American news report last wk and they will be cutting back 50000 jobs in the industry because of the cost of fuel!! Even the hospitality industry has been affected. These are very trying times indeed. All the best to the AC employees.

Dean
Once again, the union thinks it runs the company> When will they ever read where it says the company has the right to manage the company? Silly people. They will also go the way of Gm et al if they don't wise up to the new reality of business. Wake up people! Your saviour unions and yourselves are putting your jobs at risk. Corporations need profits to operate otherwise why would anyone start a business? If you don't believe this, start your own and see if you can survive without profits for very long. When a union comes in and tells you what you can or cannot do with YOUR business, how funny will that be?

Roger T
Protest for what reason? They have no rights to protest since they DO NOT own the business, they are workers.

This is why Unions should be banned for the sake of doing and continuing businesses.

There is two sides to this:

1. Corporate greed has led to business loss while placing blames on rising cost of doing business.

2. Unions are demanding higher wages which is driving up the cost of doing businesses and they think they own the business but rather they are employed to run the business.

If a company should and wants to cut the working staf by half or all of it, it's NOT up to unions to interfer or protest. Companies have the rights to layoff staff to cut operation cost to function without union interferrence.

Unions should be banned completely, as it only paves way for unsatisfy workers everytime they don't get what they want. Most of the times, these union workers don't deserve raises as they don't have good work ethics except for taking home a pay cheque.

Dave
PP is right. Every employer should simply pay minimum wage, including his.

mh
Air Canada, like any airline has been hit by a "perfect storm", not of it's making. So cut backs are inevitable. The difficulty here is the corporate attitude toward it's flight attendants and some misinformed public.
Air Canada has always been careful to try and make it's pilots happy but keeping cabin crew happy or loyal has not been an industry requirement for a long time.
Flight attendants don't make lovely wages anymore and haven't for many years, they work hard, difficult and occasionally dangerous hours. Then after some lout has finished ordering them about, trying to date them while complaining about their attitude, those same attendants are supposed to save their lives when it all goes wrong. Give me a break. My wife was one, she loved it, but you couldn't pay me enough to ever want to be one.

Vahan
Unfortunately with all the cuts announced the youngest members of the team will get hit the hardest, while the old and angry will remain to continue with the great customer service we are becoming accustomed to. How about cutting some fat cats in suits while you are at it. Look at BCE they seem to be going the right route. All these old tired companies are starting to get me angry. They never realize they are being sucked down the drain until it is too late and who always gets it in the end, not the idiots making the decisions, nope, the hard working keeners get nailed. What a shame.The let them eat cake attitude has to change if we want a just society

Jim- surrey
So AC wants to cut costs I have a great idea for them and an environmental friendly on too.
I witness two AC planes dump fuel while flying over Surrey. Now isn't that a waste and an environmental hazard?
I think so. What they need to do is calculate the planes consumption and carry that amount of fuel with a little extra rather than dumping raw jet fuel into the air and still charge the customers all the extra for fuel costs in their tickets and I believe environment canada should be on the airlines not to dump fuel as well!!!!!!!!!!!

wakeupcall
In a world of globalization, what industry can be considered more globally present than the airline industry? This is what all the protests are about at the G8 summits, the lowering of the bar for working conditions to the lowest common denominator (or lower). Who benefits from globalization - owners of large corporations.

This is just the beginning for the western world as working conditions will continue to deteriorate.

business grad
To Roger T
Sorry fella, they DO have the right to protest just as in Canada they have the right to unionize. Just because you don't OWN the company doesn't mean you have no say over your working conditions. We have labour laws and the right to unionize because way before you were born workers were subjected to deplorable conditons. Without legal protection these conditions can and will return. Look at conditions in other countries. Yeah, I know, it's BUSINESS.

Larry P
The airline industry is a global industry, as such they must compete with other carriers from other nations - that have much lower employee costs. As a former airline pilot, I know what FAs do and how much they get paid for doing it - I can say that most (flight attendants) are grossly overpaid and feel the company should follow the lead of other US and international carriers.

JFJ
Hey AC employees union. AC has to compete and so do you. You price AC out of the market and you price yourselves out of jobs.

What do you want, a government subsidy like the auto industry got before AC goes down the tubes too?

DP
I fly from Montreal to Boston every week, round trip, the plane is always either oversold or nearly full. I pay between 600 and 1100 (!!!) for a 45 min flight, - and 45 min of waiting for (not so enthusiastic) ground personnel.
I had pretty much the same experience on flights to LGA.
Just curious, how could anyone be LOOSING money in that kind of situation?

Jason
well i work in IT and it is an up and down business. Airlines are sometimes the same. you have to deal with it and move on. Air Canada needs to make money for the share holders... if you want to blame somebody blame the Feds... and the Stock Market for not doing anything and pushing the price of fuel to artificial highs. Well OC Transpo is hiring.

Steve G
Dave...right on!

I have to wonder-every time a company runs into some financial trouble, the corporate cheerleaders line up to post on these boards how the employees should give back (like it is automatically the employees fault). The vast majority of the time it is due to a flawed business plan (read: management) So, with that "logic", if a company's profits increase by let's say 20%, then all employees should get a 20% wage increase-no?

Roger T...so unions should be banned. That is entrenched in the constitution under the freedom of association. What other rights should be banned-freedom of the press? freedom of religion?

For the apathetic crowd who say "if you don't like a job, then leave", how about trying this on for size-if you think being a flight attendant, auto worker etc is such an idyllic job, then get off your butts and become one instead of bemoaning their wages, benefits and working conditions.

Gary
If the airlines can cut jobs and continue operating at responsible levels despite wether they need to fiscally or not then that should be their perogative..Who the heck is the union to tell them otherwise..they don't own the airline but rather work for it..This presumptiveness on the part of unions today is as unacceptable as were employer treatment of employees in the eary days when employees were in need of unions..It's almost become a situation where the employers now need unions to protect them against the abuses of employee unions..hey wait have I invented the next generation of unions..I hope not because they have become the scab of labor in so much as it's our way or the highway..Last time I checked that was blackmail.

Air Canada Sucks
Air Canada is one of the most screwed up business organizations imaginable.

Their employees still live in a fantasy world wherein they think that they work for a Crown corporation and are not subject to real world economics and competition.

The company's management is just as pathetic. In any other business, when input prices rise, so does the price of the end product being sold. But apparently not with Air Canada, where when input prices (like fuel) rise, prices stay the same but staff gets cut.

You know why? Because Air Canada's labour costs are so out of line with industry standards that the company simply cannot compete. Any wage reductions that they got through the CCAA restructuring a few years ago were time-limited and have since disappeared almost entirely.

If Air Canada can't compete against other airlines, and its labour relations are so fractured that there is no hope of getting the concessions needed for it to compete, then why not just let the airline die?

concerned for the little guy
To Larry P
How much did you make as a pilot, and were you and other pilots overpaid for what you did or do. Maybe pilots should just make 10% more than FA as all they are are bus drivers in the sky without the traffic hassle. Also if times are so tough just how much in bonus did upeer management just recently take, as always its always the people at the bottom who have to suffer while the fat cats at the top, who make all these wise decisions continue to line their pockets. How many management are leaving and with what kind of golden handshake. Best of luck to all who are losing their jobs.

Bob in Winnipeg
Air Canada could care less about the people in Winnipeg. Even thogh the company was origanily Western Canada Aviation based out of Winnipeg then changed to Trascontanental out of Winnipeg. But when the feds got their fingers involved they moved all air matenence out of Winnipeg to Montreal, then moved all corprate head quarters and high paying jobs to Toronto gutting operations in Winnipeg now they they want to layoff what few people are still here.

Doug BC
"Roger T" is right out of his tree with a post like that.I am constantly amazed how,on one day,we are angry about corporate greed,and on the next day it's all the workers fault when things get tough.
ALL workers deserve to be paid decently for their skills,and the work they do.And,while I do not want unions running my country,I respect the work they do to raise the issue of fair copmpensation.
"Roger T's" suggestion about banning unions would leave NO ONE to speak for workers,and we would soon ALL be working for Mexican,or Chinese wages in a country with Canadian prices.
As a C.T.mechanic I have worked in both union,and non union shops.The bif difference was usually not the wages.It was working conditions.THe union shops were usually larger,and,as a result we had access to improved training and upgrading.We also had more safety enforcement and were required to obey ALL environmental regulations.Non union,no one cares.Just get the job done cheap and fast.Safety rules were just in the way of profit.And hey,just dump those batteries and anti freeze in the lot next door.
There are reasons that non union shops do the jobs cheaper.But most of those reasons have nothing to do with wages.
Having said that,I feel for these employees.But the high cost of energy almost guarantees us that there will be lots more people faced with similar problems.But lowering wages will not be a solution that would work over a longer term.If a trend like that were started,the corporations would ride that until we all worked for slave wages while corporations abused their power by impoverishing us all.

freedom lover
Stop thinking that the corporate elite are your friends. You are things for them to use.

AC Unionist
To all you anti labour pro corporations. Lets just make sure we understand something. Montie Brewer call the layoffs "painful"../Robert Milton used the exact same words in 2001 when he layed us off..."painful". Now how much did he make last year with his bonus and share options??? How much did Montie make??? Millions upon millions. But hey if fuel is high, they gotta cut costs right..why start at the top...why lead by example???

Dougj
Lets hope the govt will stay out of Ac's business.
There is absolutely no accountability at air canada. Its about time they actually fire a few people there than layoff all the juniors.

With all 7 union contracts expiring next year and the roaring fuel prices and Miltons 50 million dollar wage. They are for sure headed to bankruptcy again.

matty
comparing bus drivers to airline pilots is a little off don't you think there bud. When something goes wrong you can't pull over on the side of the road. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because emergencies are rare, that it won't happen because it only takes one to ruin your day. Also bringing down over 200000 lbs of metal going over 200 km per hr at night with gusty crosswinds ain't the same as asking a passenger for a refill on coke or 7 up.

CG
I support the flight attendants completely. I see no reason for the bases to be closed. I do however see lots of reason to cut back the salaries of the CEO's; reason being: high cost of fuel -- yeah that is the excuse everyone is using these days right?

All in all though, keep fighting -- and I support you

Shawn
It is the unfair taxes! I am a frequent flyer and Air Canada and its flight attendants have been nothing short of superlative for the past 5 years, and that is particularly so for the last 18 months. Prices due to fuel have gone up and so supply has to decrease. That is an economic truism. However, I have to think that mile per mile airlines are double taxed. There are fees for security and airport improvement, plus they pay tax on the fuel. If you drive a car, you are provided security and road improvement solely from tax on the fuel, hence the double taxation. The flight attendants should play this angle -- level the playing field and if taxes could be reduced equal the increase in fuel costs, we demand would be back up, supply would return to normal, flight attendants are needed and we all win.

Steve
The union forced Air Canada to close bases vs. just cutting a few people everwhere. It is the only way Air Canada can get rid of the oldest, most senior, highest paid attendents. Otherwise it would just be all the young, cheaper, and by all accounts best, attendents that would be cut. The picture speaks volumes to AC's problem.....

Alex - Saskatoon
I'm not surprised in the slightest. I'd like to think that my personal boycott on AC has contributed to this, but I know it hasn't. We might be entering a tough economic time ahead; to attract business AC does what - cuts back service and routes, ups airfare and charges for an extra bag (which we all know would never make it to the destination anyway!).

Heather Ward
I guess we can thank our federal government in part for this one. It's not just higher fuel costs that have forced businesses large and small across this country to cut costs when looking at their bottom line, it's the outrageous fuel taxes that our government has levied on every hard-working and decent Canadian citizen. This is just the tip of the iceberg folks. We are not only on the verge of a nation-wide recession, but a world-wide recession, and when the smoke clears, the only ones who are certain not to lose their shirts are the global oil companies. When are the leaders of the world going to grow a brain and get a backbone and tell these money-greedy oil companies that enough is enough?!!! How much money is enough?!!!

FlyfromBuffalo John
The AC Union better take a good look at themselves and figure out why the overall costs are so high. AC should have let Canadian go bankrupt rather than taking on their disgruntled employees - what a bad batch mixing AC & Canadian. Living in Burlington, it is much more efficient to fly from Buffalo and alot less hassle clearing US Customs @ Fort Erie/Buffalo than at TLBPIA - the entire Buffalo experience is much more pleasant.

AC Flight Attendant
After reading all the comments about how Air Canada's employees are grossly overpaid and reading how people are "cheering" our job loss, I felt it prudent to respond. I am an Air Canada flight attendant. I am based in Toronto, I love my job, and I always try to give the best service I can, despite having been forced to explain away all the service cuts that the airline has undertaken in the name of cost savings.

Last year I made just under 18K. I live in Toronto, in a two bedroom apartment, with four other flight attendants. My schedule doesn't allow me to hold another part time job because I am only actually paid for the time the plane is in the air, everything else, including sitting in a plane full of angry passengers during a thunderstorm is volunteer.
I have a family, nieces and nephews I would like to be able to buy Christmas presents for. I am not an angry, disgruntled employee. I will almost certainly be laid off come November.
I love my job, and I would like to thank the people who commented their support, but I wanted to show you all that we are not the greedy fat cats you perceive us to be. We are people with families.
At least our C.E.O. can buy Christmas presents for his family with his $46 Million dollar bonus.

flyguy
Those "lovely wages" you refer to have been cut repeatedly in the last decade. AC Flight Attendants gave up 13.5% in wages, a weeks vacation , along with all sorts of productivity cocessions during AC's bankruptcy/restructuring in 2003.

As an AC crew member, my wages have yet to equal my wages of 1992. There are not many people who can say that about their wages, I'm sure. Considering cost of living and inflation have averaged around 5% the last few years, I earn exactly ONE HALF in "real dollars" of what I earned in 1992.

My bank Manager recently told me; "you used to have a good job".

flyguy
Dean;

When AC executives receive millions of dollars in bonuses, and shareholders were paid $300 million as a "thankyou" after the restructuring, I think it begs the question; "Why should the Flight Attendants & other Union workers be expected to take less , so that the Executives can take more ? "

Have you looked into the compensation that is being paid to oil workers ? It is interesting that nobody complains about the compensation paid to those fortunate enough to work for an oil company ...... and nobdy seems to mind that those costs are passed onto the consumer at the pump.

There are many areas that AC can reduce costs, without the "easiest" solution of just cutting staff. Executives with multi-million dollars in compensation should be looking a little deeper into where those costs can be cut.

If AC employees are classified as "surplus"; they should at least receive a respectful exit package, like those offered to GM workers.

Also; everbody wants to fly very cheaply. I think airfares have been extremely low in the past few years, and unfortunately those fares need to rise to reflect the increased costs. Flying is still by far the safest method of travel, and is still excellent value when one considers the alternatives.

Donna Cayer
I think that passenger fares should go up to pay for the fuel hikes. Its not the employees who are at fault, they already brought Air Canada out of bankrupcy with a 14% wage cut years ago. If companies started getting rid of employees every time fuel went up in price, imagine what our country would be like...