Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Recently, your Committee of General Chairpersons met with Air Canada Labour Relations to discuss
changes to the sick leave provisions of the Canada Labour Code (CLC).
Members are advised that the new sick leave provisions of the CLC have been integrated into the legacy
sick leave provisions contained in our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Under the CLC, federally regulated employees are entitled to accrue up to ten (10) paid sick days per
calendar year. As of January 1, 2023, employees were allocated three (3) paid sick days and will further
accrue one (1) day of paid sick leave per month up to a maximum of ten (10) days per calendar year.
For 2024 and subsequent years, one (1) paid day of sick leave per month will be accumulated as of
January 1st, up to the maximum of ten (10) paid days per calendar year. Unused CLC sick days will be
carried over into subsequent years up to the maximum of ten (10) sick days per calendar year.
Note that CLC paid sick days do not count as occurrences under LOU 10.04 of the CBA and are not
subject to the associated penalties or time windows, but your legacy collective agreement rights
remain intact.
Starting January 1, 2023, Members accessing sick days will have their accumulated CLC sick
bank debited first. If/once the CLC bank is exhausted, any additional sick days will be applied in
accordance with the existing (CBA) legacy sick leave provisions.
The CLC states that employers may request medical substantiation for absences lasting five (5) days
or longer. At this time Air Canada has not advised of any amendments to their Attendance
Management Policy.
In solidarity,
Dave Flowers
President & Directing General Chairperson
Category:Bulletin
Bulletin # 42- ALL IAMAW MEMBERS-LEGISLATION UPDATE-10 PAID SICK DAYS
Dear Members,
I am proud to say that our efforts were successful and that as of Dec.1, 2022, the Canada Labour Code was amended to provide 10 paid sick days for workers in the federal jurisdiction. There has been less success at the provincial level, particularly in provinces where Conservative governments brought in temporary measures, which are now expired.
The accrual of sick days starts in December, but actual sick days are not accrued until next year. 3 days will be accrued at the end of the first 30 days of legislation coming into effect, then additional days are accrued at a rate of 1 day per month, to a maximum of 10 days. It’s important to note that paid sick days are not in addition to what Collective Agreements provide, rather, if the Collective Agreement is inferior to the new law, employers must abide by the superior legislation. Sick days can’t be stacked with days available under a Collective Agreement; workers have access to either their Collective Agreement entitlements, if that agreement is superior to the law, or 10 days if the legislation is better than the agreement. The two cannot be combined. As a general rule, when determining if a Collective Agreement provides a better benefit than the new law, consider the entirety of sick day clauses in Collective Agreements.
In solidarity,
Dave Flowers President & Directing General Chairperson
Bulletin #41-EFAP PROGRAM UPDATE
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Air Canada has agreed to keep the full-time regional positions in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Further, they have agreed to recognize the importance of the peer reps within the workplace.
As of November 1, 2022, all IAMAW members of Air Canada were added to the Air Canada eligibility list at Lifeworks. Anyone seeking counselling can contact Lifeworks, and you will be set up with a practitioner in your area.
The phone number for Lifeworks is 1-844-880-9142.
In solidarity,
Derrick Bashford
National Coordinator
Transportation District 140
Employee and Family Assistance Program
Bulletin # 039 – Air Canada – Vaccine Policy Grievance Update – November 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Please be advised that Arbitrator Ready has offered the Union and the Company two (2) dates, which
both parties and our legal teams have agreed to. The next date that the National Vaccine Policy
Grievance Arbitration will be heard is Monday, December 12, 2022 and Tuesday, December 20,
2022.
Bulletin #36 Air Canada EFAP Program Update
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
As the National Coordinator of your IAWAM Employee and Family Assistance Program, I never expected to write this bulletin. However, due to the changes made by the Government of Canada, the IAMAW disability structure with Air Canada, no longer qualifies for the Employment Insurance Rebate that has funded our program for the past 20-plus years.
Bulletin #35 Vaccine Policy Grievance Update October 12, 2022
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Further to Bulletin No. 031 dated September 14, 2022, District Lodge 140 advised our members that the next date that the National Vaccine Policy Grievance Arbitration will be heard was Wednesday, October 12, 2022.
Please be advised that during this hearing, the Union and our legal team have presented our case. Due to the complexity of the grievance, further dates will be required in order for the arbitration to continue; this includes allotting time for the company to present their case to the arbitrator.
Upon completion of the hearing, Arbitrator Ready immediately offered the Union and the company a set of tentative dates, which we will relay to the membership once confirmed by all parties.
Vaccine Policy Grievance Update
Please be advised that Arbitrator Ready has offered the Union and the Company with another date, which both parties and our legal teams have agreed on. The next date that the National Vaccine Policy Grievance Arbitration will be heard is Wednesday, October 12th, 2022.
AIR CANADA NATIONAL GRIEVANCE VACCINE POLICY BULLETIN #028
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Further to Bulletin No. 022 dated June 1st, the National Vaccine Policy grievance hearing commenced on July 19th, in front of Arbitrator Vince Ready. Both parties were represented by their respective legal counsel and the Committee of General Chairpersons was in attendance.
As this is a complex and multi-faceted issue, much of the first day was spent in mediation and dealing with preliminary objections. Please be advised that by direction of the Arbitrator these mediation discussions are strictly confidential.
IFA Starting Wage Increase Winnipeg Finance
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Earlier today, Air Canada informed the Union that, given the difficulty in hiring and retaining new staff in the Winnipeg Finance Branch, as per Article 5.02 of the CBA, they will be increasing the starting wage of new hires and current employees who are below step 5 to step 5 of the 2022 IFA wage scale. Please see below excerpt from the CBA.
5.02 The Company, at its discretion, may commence a newly hired permanent or temporary-term employee at any published rate within the wage scale of the classification into which the employee was hired, but not in excess of the maximum published rate of the classification.
As we are in agreement with members receiving higher wages, this will only impact members currently below a step 5 and new hires. This move will not impact any other current members financially; however, we are hopeful that this will help the company attract and hire new members and finally start to ease the workloads for all members. This was the sole decision of company to make this call, we have no control over this decision. Recent benchmarking against other companies in the Winnipeg area showed that Air Canada’s starting wages are no longer competitive. While we understand not everyone will be in agreement with this move by the company, the Collective Agreement does allow for it. Rest assured your Union will be seeking competitive wage increases across the board when the contract expires in 2026.
In Solidarity,
Jordan Strang
Shop Committee Chairperson
IAMAW LL2603