Air Transat's flight attendants rejected the deal in principle

Members of the Air Transat flight attendants union have rejected in principle the agreement reached between their representatives and their employer on December 14.

The decision was almost unanimous. No less than 98.1% of the participants in the voting, which took place from December 20 to 23, decided that the new employment contract was not valid.

The main reason for the rejection by 2,100 members affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was “inability to increase wages, cost of living and wage stagnation”.

“It is clear to us that this agreement has not succeeded in reducing the suffering and financial insecurity that Air Transat flight attendants experience on a daily basis,” President Levasseur, president of CUPE, Dominica's Air Transat component, explained in a press release.

The issue of unpaid work during boarding and waiting at the airport is also a major issue in the current discussions.

A strike is possible

Air Transat and the union now plan to resume negotiations from Wednesday.

“It is always possible for the union to file a strike notice, especially in view of the high level of dissatisfaction of the members,” warned the body representing the workers. If such actions are initiated, all flights of the company will be cancelled.

On November 27, flight attendants at Montreal (YUL) and Toronto (YYZ) airports received a 99.8% strike mandate, the highest result in the history of CUPE's Air Transat component.

Their collective agreement expired more than a year ago.