Agreement in principle rejected in Mirabel | Airbus says it is studying “all possible options”

Airbus says it has “put everything on the table” in negotiations with its 1,300 union members who assemble the A220 – still in deficit – in Mirabel. After the rejection of an agreement in principle providing for salary increases of 22% over five years, the aircraft manufacturer says it is studying “all possible options”.

Reacting to the result of the vote on Sunday, however, the European multinational did not say how far it was prepared to go. In her statement, she essentially expresses her disappointment and reiterates the gains made by the workers at the factory located in the Laurentians. By email, La Presse asked Airbus if a lockout could be a possibility. As of this writing, the company has not responded.

“We put everything on the table in terms of improving salary conditions, increasing social benefits and retirement by adding a bonus to encourage the sharing of our knowledge among our employees,” says the head of human resources at Airbus Canada , Patrick Bertin.

The third employer offer from the aircraft manufacturer came from an agreement in principle concluded with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). The union recommended its members – which include mechanics, toolmakers, welders and other technicians – to accept the offer. Gathered in an assembly in Laval, they rejected it by around 68%. Nearly 75% of these employees were present, or just under 1,000 union members.

Surprise

On the union side, we did not seem to anticipate the outcome that occurred on Sunday.

“With this agreement in principle, we believed we had met the members’ expectations, but this is not the case,” said union spokesperson Éric Rancourt. We will quickly contact the employer to discuss the next steps. »

In a telephone interview, he said he had already contacted the employer in order to identify new dates to resume negotiations. Mr. Rancourt claimed not to have obtained a response from Airbus on Sunday. The Airbus statement stresses that it is “essential” to resolve the impasse “as quickly as possible”.

The first two employer offers were almost unanimously rejected by its workers, following recommendations from their union. This third proposal from Airbus relied on a five-year employment contract with annual salary increases of 8%, 3%, 3%, 4% and 4%. They would have been applied retroactively to December 2.

A stretching issue

Industrial peace was one of the issues to be resolved at Airbus as part of its strategy to make the program profitable. In order to achieve this, the European aircraft manufacturer must double the current production rate within two years and be able to deliver 14 examples of the A220 per month. In 2023, 68 devices had been handed over to customers. After the first three months of the year, deliveries of the A220 stood at 12. The multinational still has a lot of work to do.

“This is a young aircraft program and efforts must still be made to ensure its long-term success,” says Mr. Bertin.

Any delay in the profitability schedule risks having consequences for Quebec taxpayers, who hold 25% of this program developed by Bombardier after having injected 1.7 billion since 2015. By agreeing to remit 380 million in 2022, Quebec had been able to push back to 2030 the moment when Airbus can buy back its stake in the A220.

The longer profits wait, the more money the Quebec state will leave on the table.