Sunwings Airlines' claim that a shortage of pilots caused recent flight disruptions and cancellations were "an excuse", according to the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA).
The carrier had pointed its inability to hire 63 foreign pilots through the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) programme for recent flight disruptions and cancellations.
“The issue of pilot supply has been used as an excuse by certain airline management groups to undermine collective bargaining rights and labour standards, and to deflect from other mismanagement of labour resources. Simply put, you can’t sell more tickets than you can expect to honour," said ALPA Canada president Tim Perry.
ALPA said it is "deeply concerned" at such justifications being used by employers in Canada who it accused of "seeking to hire temporary foreign pilots instead of bargaining fair collective agreements to fill the vacancies in Canada’s flight decks".
"The labour challenges in Canada’s aviation sector, including recruitment issues for northern and regional airlines, are largely due to new discount airlines coming into the marketplace with a ton of new capacity and drawing upon the existing pilot supply," ALPA said.