CAW agrees to 1,060 job cuts at Air Canada Last Updated Mon, 31 Mar 2003 17:58:00 TORONTO - The CAW union has agreed to 1,060 job cuts involving its members= =20 at struggling Air Canada. CAW president Buzz Hargrove told an Ottawa news= =20 conference the union had also agreed to defer a 2.5 per cent wage increase= =20 for the rest of its members =96 a move that would save more than $6 million= a=20 year. The CAW represents 9,500 passenger agents at the airline. The job=20 reductions would be part of the 3,600 job cuts Air Canada announced earlier= =20 this month as part of a major cost-cutting initiative. The machinists'=20 union has been targeted for 1,300 cuts, while Air Canada has already=20 started mailing out layoff notices to 600 flight attendants. The Canadian=20 Union of Public Employees, which represents flight attendants, said it is=20 fighting the layoffs. CUPE says forced layoffs are prohibited under the=20 no-layoff clause in its contract. Air Canada has been trying to keep its head above water as it struggles=20 with reduced travel in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the war in Iraq, tougher= =20 domestic competition, and now severe acute respiratory syndrome=20 (SARS). The federal government is reportedly working on some kind of aid=20 package for the airline that could include loan guarantees of more than=20 $300 million. Also on Monday, a coaltion of Air Canada's five unions asked= =20 the federal government to cut fees and taxes imposed in the airline=20 industry. The move echoed a similar call made earlier in the day by a=20 coalition of airlines, travel agents, airports, and the hotel industry. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week:http://www.ttsailing.org/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************