Sunwing plans to yank pilots’ health insurance after CIRB criticism

“What Sunwing Airways is doing to their staff is basically improper and unCanadian,” stated Scott Doherty, Unifor’s Govt Assistant to the Nationwide President. “They’ve taken masses of tens of millions of presidency cash all through the pandemic and threatened to chop their staff off CEWS except they agreed to deep concessions of their contracts. Chopping off this Lack of License insurance coverage is including insult to damage.”

Sunwing pilots filed a criticism on the Canada Commercial Family members Board Monday, July 4, 2022, alleging their employer bargained in unhealthy religion all through a up to date spherical of negotiations since the employer already knew the corporate used to be being bought to WestJet.

On July 8, 2022 – days after the submitting on the CIRB – Sunwing despatched a report to Unifor pilot individuals indicating the corporate would not be proceeding the pilots’ $200,000 Lack of License insurance coverage, which helps a pilot who loses their license to fly because of clinical causes.

“Lack of License Insurance coverage is significant for pilots,” stated Barret Armann, President of Unifor Native 7378, which represents 452 Sunwing pilots. “With out one, they’re out of a profession. The insurance coverage equipped an overly small amount of cash to retrain, reinforce their households and start once more in a brand new profession – a place pilots hope they by no means to find themselves in.”

Additional to the insurance coverage cancellation, Armann stated Sunwing plans on hiring more or less 65 international brief staff this wintry weather in Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton, to relieve employee scarcity as trip continues to ramp up, post-pandemic.

Those brief staff, most commonly from Czech Republic, require much less flying revel in – 3,000 hours for captains – in comparison to Unifor’s captains at at least 4,000 to five,000 hours and Armann says the corporate is paying those international staff greater than 75% of Unifor pilots these days hired.

“There are many certified pilots right here in Canada, however Sunwing has determined to usher in staff with much less coaching,” stated Armann. “Our pilots really feel they have got been taken benefit of after being out of labor for greater than a year-and-a-half and are indignant at how the corporate chooses to regard its pilot team. The Canadian govt must improve pointers to stop firms from outsourcing our paintings and put Canadian staff first.”

Unifor is Canada’s greatest union within the personal sector, representing 315,000 staff in each and every primary house of the financial system. The union advocates for all running other people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and in another country, and strives to create modern exchange for a greater long run.

SOURCE Unifor

For additional data: please touch Unifor Nationwide Communications Consultant Jenny Yuen: [email protected] or (416) 938-6157.