Air Canada pilots picket at Toronto’s Pearson airport as talks continue

Air Canada pilots are set to demonstrate at Toronto's Pearson airport Friday, calling for better wages and working conditions as talks with the country's biggest carrier continue.

TORONTO — Air Canada pilots are set to demonstrate at Toronto’s Pearson airport Friday, calling for better wages and working conditions as talks with the country’s biggest carrier continue.

Representing more than 5,000 Air Canada aviators, the Air Line Pilots Association kick-started the bargaining process in June, one day after fellow union members at WestJet ratified a new collective agreement.

Both the union and employer say the so-called informational picket at Terminal 1, which comes the same day their own nine-year deal expires, will not affect Air Canada’s flight schedule.

No strike is imminent, the pilots association said.

Charlene Hudy, who heads its Air Canada contingent, said the agreement has grown “stale,” with some co-workers leaving for better pay in the United States.

“We’re striving for this world class contract that Air Canada pilots do deserve,” she said, calling the wage gap across the border “unacceptable.”

“There was a point in time back in 2013 when we were pretty comparable — almost even — with our fellow counterparts at United.” But starting next year, United Airlines pilots will earn 92 per cent more, she said.

Between March and September, pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines secured agreements that included four-year pay hikes ranging from 34 per cent to 40 per cent.