Air Canada and the union representing its mechanics and technical staff will meet Friday after workers narrowly rejected a key labour contract that freezes wages and gives the airline a break on pensions.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers could ask its members to vote again on the tentative deal that freeze wages until March 31, 2011, union spokesman Bill Trbovich said Thursday.
The agreement needs to be approved because there aren’t any pay raises to get for these workers, he said.
“We’re trying to explain to them that there’s no money to give out,” Trbovich said from Toronto where the union bargaining team was meeting.
Air Canada says it needs immediate pension relief, and is seeking $600 million in loans to survive the recession.
The union also could ask the airline whether the tentative agreement can be tweaked in any way, he added.
