Air Canada and CALDA reach new agreement for flight dispatchers

MONTREAL, Canada – Air Canada and the Canadian Airline Dispatchers Association (CALDA) today announced they have signed a new contract, subject to ratification, on collective agreement terms for 12 years. Air Canada’s flight dispatchers are based at the airline’s Operations Centre near Toronto Pearson International Airport and assist flight crew in the preparation for flight departures and arrivals.

“This 12-year agreement with CALDA is a historic achievement that recognizes the important contribution of Air Canada’s flight dispatchers and, together with our other employee groups, will support long-term and profitable growth at Air Canada and provide stability for our employees,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada. “This is now our seventh agreement – including three others with terms for 10 years – that we have reached with our unions in just over a year. It is a further confirmation of the collaborative partnership Air Canada and its employees enjoy and our shared focus on taking care of customers and building one of the world’s leading international airlines.”

The agreement is subject to ratification by CALDA’s membership as well as to certain openers over the 12-year period. Details of the agreement will not be released pending ratification by CALDA and approval by the Air Canada Board of Directors.

The union will recommend ratification to its members and the Company will seek the Air Canada Board of Directors’ approval for the agreement promptly.

This agreement with CALDA, subject to ratification, follows on the conclusion of 10-year contracts with the IAMAW, representing Air Canada’s 7,500 technical, maintenance, airport ramp and cargo personnel; with CUPE, representing the airline’s 6,500 flight attendants, and with ACPA, representing its 3,000 pilots. It is the seventh agreement reached by Air Canada and its unions, including those with Unifor representing the airline’s 4,000 Customer Service and Sales Agents in Canada, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) representing its U.S. unionized workforce and UNITE representing its U.K. unionized workforce.