Could Air Canada's employees become even more bitter than they already are? This should take surly to an entirely new level! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roger James" <ejames@xxxxxxxxx> To: <AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 6:51 AM Subject: Air Canada passengers relieved, workers bitter about labour agreements > Air Canada passengers relieved, workers bitter about labour agreements > ALLAN SWIFT Canadian Press > Sunday, June 01, 2003 > > > > MONTREAL (CP) - Air Canada passengers are relieved but employees are bitter > about a series of labour agreements concluded early Sunday that keeps the > airline in the air. A deal with the airline's 3,150 mainline pilots > announced early Sunday morning was the last of nine new union agreements > that will cut thousands of jobs and wages as the Montreal-based airline > struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection. "I'm completely relieved, > I'm glad to see that they came to a deal," said Air Canada flight attendant > Rob Sheerratt Sunday, interviewed at Montreal's Dorval Airport. However > Sheerratt, catching a smoke before leaving on a Tango flight to Vancouver, > admits he is "ticked off" that an agreement late last week by his union, > the Canadian Union of Public Employees, will force flight attendants to > work longer hours for less pay to help save his employer. "It's > symptomatic of the country; we're shuffling workers into jobs (that are) > part-time and for less money. I'm taking a wage cut so that Canadians can > go to Hawaii cheaper, and that's against my bottom line, so that makes me > angry," Sheerratt said. But the flight attendant added: "To save the > company, I'm happy to do it." > > Traveller Ken Mason, on his way to Toronto, was less sympathetic to the > airline's plight, and declared the government should not step in to help > out if Air Canada can not resolve its chronic difficulties. "I'm relieved > in the sense I can get home today . . . (but) I don't think Canada should > keep alive the airline. Mason said the smaller and newer entrants like > WestJet airlines and Jetsgo, a Montreal based airline that started flying a > year ago, provide alternatives, and Canada could open up the skies to > American or other foreign airlines. "I've flown Jetsgo and . . . certainly > their service is great and their price is about a third (of Air Canada's)," > Mason said > > Paul Leveille, on his way home to Winnipeg, has a completely different > point of view, and believes the federal government should step in and help > out Air Canada, a former Crown corporation that was privatized in the late > 1980s. > "I thought the privatization was a stupid move, especially to have an > American running the damn place," said Leveille. > The company's current president and chief executive Robert Milton, who was > born in Boston but who has made Montreal his home for a decade now, is at > least the third American-born CEO of Canada's largest airline. "I think > he's (Milton) just basically arrogant and he doesn't take the culture of > Canada into account when he's planning." Louis Deslauriers of Montreal, > sending his son off to Cuba for a vacation, is happy the pilots reached a > deal, but he's confident the government will not let anything happen to the > dominant air carrier. "I'm relieved for my boy so he can get away; I'm not > worried he won't get back, because if Air Canada shuts down, the government > will charter aircraft to go to Cuba to bring everyone back. They won't > leave Canadians in Cuba." > > Deslauriers also firmly believes the government should protect the company > from bankruptcy, noting that it employs 40,000 people, before the most > recent cuts, as well as affecting some 100,000 jobs indirectly. "If they > all went on unemployment or welfare, that would cost the government a lot > more." Tony Santelli, founder of Funtastique Travel, a chain of travel > agencies based in Quebec, said he believes the airline will emerge a > stronger company, now that it has ratified cost-cutting agreements will all > its unionized and non-unionized employees. "I really think that now > they're on the way to reshaping the airline and making it a go," said > Santelli in an interview. "I think it will be the first and probably the > benchmark for other national airlines to do the same, if this experiment > works, and I don't see why it wouldn't. It's based on offering customers a > low price by making sure it costs less to deliver the goods." > > > *************************************************** > 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/ > Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ > Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ > TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt > ********************************************************* >