After a tense period of negotiation, Canadian Airbus A220 jet assembly workers have finally approved a new five-year contract. This prevents a potential lockout that could have significantly impacted production and airline deliveries.
The agreement, overwhelmingly approved by over 75% of the union members, addresses several key concerns. Workers will see a significant raise – a 23% increase in salary over the next five years. Additionally, they’ll benefit from improved group insurance access and a financial incentive for working later shifts.
While the union pushed for work-life balance improvements, including a four-day workweek for afternoon staff, this wasn’t included in the final deal. However, Airbus highlighted the agreement will facilitate better shift balancing and knowledge transfer between experienced and newer employees – crucial as A220 production ramps up to meet growing demand.
This successful negotiation comes amidst a trend of empowered unions leveraging a tight labor market and high inflation to secure substantial gains for their members. Recent months have seen airline pilots, autoworkers, and others secure significant wage increases.
The new contract brings stability to the Canadian A220 program, allowing Airbus to focus on production efficiency and cost control for this smaller, but increasingly popular, narrowbody jet.
