May 27, 2010, Ottawa – Jazz Air Income Fund pilots have voted in
favor of giving their union a strike
mandate, the Air Line Pilots Association said on Thursday.
The 1,519 pilots have been without a contract
with the
Canadian regional airline since June 30, 2009, when their
previous deal expired.
Jazz is the
regional carrier for Air Canada (ACa.TO)
(ACb.TO),
the country's biggest airline.
Pay, pension and expenses are key unresolved issues, Jazz
pilots' union head Captain Brian Shury told Reuters recently.
Negotiations began in May 2009 and a
federal conciliator
was appointed in mid-March. A conciliation period is set to
expire May 22, unless extended by both the union and company,
and is followed by a 21-day cooling off period.
A strike could be called after that.
Jazz units were up 1.6 per cent, or 7
Canadian cents, at
C$4.35 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday. Air Canada's
more heavily traded class B shares were up 3 percent at C$1.94.
($1=$1.05 Canadian).
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