RECALL PROCESS:

As of 2015, all Air Canada Mainline and Rouge members are placed on the same master seniority list.

When laid off, you may be recalled to Rouge or Mainline, depending on where a vacancy exists.

Article 16, 17 and 18 of the CUPE Air Canada Collective Agreement deals with seniority, layoff and recalls.

Below is a brief explanation of the process.

Mainline Cabin Personnel do NOT need to accept a recall to Air Canada Rouge. They may remain on layoff status and wait for a recall to Mainline.

Step 1 Recall Notice Sent
The most senior employees on layoff status will be advised of the first available assigned at either Air Canada Mainline or Air Canada Rouge. The recall notice must be sent by registered letter, but you may also receive an email or phone call.

Step 2 – Responding to Recall Notice
You have 7 calendar days from the date of the postmark to advise if you are accepting the position.
You must accept the recall if it is to the point of layoff, which is the same base and same company that you were laid-off from.

If the recall is to a different Mainline base or Air Canada Rouge you may decline the recall, however you must still reply to the recall notice advising that you wish to be retained on the seniority list for subsequent assignments. This must be done within 14 calendar days from the date of the postmark.

If you fail to reply to a recall notice, you will have been considered to have resigned without notice.

Step 3 – Accepting Recall to Rouge
If you accept recall to Air Canada Rouge, you will be given at least 21 calendar days’ notice of your start date. You will be protected at your Air Canada Mainline wage rate (except for Service Directors who would earn their Mainline FA wage rate, a grievance has already been filed on this). You will also maintain your Mainline pension and health benefits; however, all other working conditions and premiums will be based on LOU 55 and Company policies that apply to Air Canada Rouge Cabin Crew.

Step 4 – Working at Rouge
You will be required to attend training in order to become a qualified Rouge Flight Attendant. The length of this training has yet to be determined. The Company has also advised us that you will use your Mainline Uniform with minor modifications provided by the Company.

Step 5 – Recall to Mainline
Once a vacancy exists at Mainline it will be offered to the most senior crew member who remains on layoff or is temporarily working at Rouge. Master Seniority will prevail as per Article 18.03. By accepting a position at Rouge, you are not giving up your position at Mainline. You will be recalled to Mainline once a Mainline position is available at your seniority.


When recalled back to your point of layoff, you must return to Air Canada Mainline.

If the recall is to a different Air Canada Mainline base, you may decline the recall and wait for a position at your original home base. However, you will forfeit your Mainline wage rate and health benefits. You will be placed on the Air Canada Rouge wage grid in accordance with your combined years of service from Mainline and Rouge and will switch to the Air Canada Rouge benefit plan. If you accept the recall to a difference base, please be advised that Mainline base transfers are only processed for mutual transfers at this time until all members have been recalled in accordance with the Collective Agreement.

When it comes to the work rules, vacation time, sick time, and discipline process, all this information can be found in LOU 55 of the Collective Agreement.

IF RECALLED TO ROUGE...

The Collective Agreement requires that these Cabin Personnel be provided with “their Air Canada Mainline wage rate with Air Canada Mainline benefits” while at Rouge (Article 17.04.02). The purpose of this provision was to ensure that Mainline Cabin Personnel wage rates were protected if they were recalled to Rouge.

The Employer has taken the position that Pursers/Service Directors recalled to Rouge will not be paid their Mainline wage rate and instead, will be paid the rate they would have been paid at Mainline had they been classified as a Flight Attendant. The Employer has taken the position that parking benefits will not be provided. This is not what the Parties negotiated and not what the Collective Agreement requires. It is also extremely punitive.

The Union has filed a grievance, CHQ-20-13 – Wage Rate and Benefits for Members Recalled to Rouge. Our Members, who have already suffered so much through COVID-19 and layoff, deserve better.

RECALLS to ROUGE & EI

EI is administered by the Government of Canada and as such neither CUPE nor Air Canada have the ability to guarantee what kind of benefits you receive or for how long.

As an Employment Insurance claimant, you have always been responsible for conducting reasonable job searches, documenting your job search activities and accepting any offer of suitable employment while receiving benefits.

You can click here for information on refusing a suitable employment offer.

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/suitable-employment.html

In the end, if your EI decides to revoke your benefits, it will be up to you as an individual to prove that the offer to work at Rouge is unsuitable due to one of the reasons listed by the Government, namely personal circumstances, working conditions, wages, commuting time or hours of work.

Click here for info on new benefits that may be available to you after CERB expires at the end of September.

RECALLS FOR OCTOBER & NOVEMBER
The Union is happy to announce that the Company has advised us that there will be 296 (the 250 figure from yesterday afternoon has now been increased to 296 as of last evening) recall notices going out shortly for Cabin Crew positions at Air Canada Mainline. Those recalled to Air Canada Mainline will be recalled back to their home base. In addition, the Company has advised us that there will be 140 recall notices for Cabin Crew positions at Air Canada Rouge. These positions at Air Canada Rouge will all be Toronto based.

The recalls to Mainline will take effect for the October 2020 block month and you must accept your recall within 7 days.

The recalls to Air Canada Rouge will be for the November 2020 block month with training to commence in October 2020. If you intend to accept the recall to Air Canada Rouge you must respond to it within 7 calendar days. Please be sure to review all information about the working conditions at Air Canada Rouge before you accept. Take your time to review the information and be certain that you understand what this role will entail. If you require any clarification or information, we encourage you to reach out to us directly by email so we can get back to you in a timely manner.

If you do not wish to accept a position at Air Canada Rouge you have 14 days to advise of such in order to be eligible for future recalls. You must reply to the recall notice to maintain your eligibility for future recalls. Please note that declining a recall to Rouge will not affect your seniority and you will be eligible for future recalls to both Mainline and Rouge that are offered in the future.

All members being recalled will be notified via registered letter. Please note that due to COVID-19, there may be some delays in these letters reaching you. To compensate for this the Company will also be advising all those recalled via Company email and a courtesy phone call. Please check your recall notice for more details.

As a reminder the Collective Agreement says the following about recalls:

17.16.02 An employee on laid-off status shall be notified by the applicable company, of the first available assignment either at Air Canada Mainline or at Air Canada Rouge to which his/her seniority entitles him. Failure to advise the applicable company within seven (7) calendar days of the registered postmark date of his/her desire to be considered for the assignment shall disqualify him for the assignment.

Recall notice shall be sent by registered mail to the last address filed with the company.

The Company will reach out to you via registered letter to the last address you have listed with the employer. You have 7 calendar days to reply to the employer if you intend on accepting your recall, from the date the letter was post marked. We have been advised that the letters will go out September 8, 2020.

If your recall is to Air Canada Rouge (and you are a Mainline member), you do not need to accept but you must still reply to the recall notice. In this case you have up to 14 calendar days to reply to the employer advising that you are not interested in the recall but wish to be maintained on the seniority list for future recalls. Failure to respond to the recall notice will result in your name being removed from the seniority list.

One question that we have been asked and which we think is very important for us to answer is:

Do I have to accept a position back to my home base? Can I decline the recall coming back to where I was laid off from?
As per Article 17.16.04 the following is applicable:

17.16.04 If the employee is notified of a permanent assignment at the point of layoff, s/he must accept, and report for duty within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date notice was sent. An acceptance of permanent assignment at other than the point of layoff shall be optional for the individual concerned; however, should s/he accept, s/he shall report for duty within twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date of registered postmark. This time limit may be extended by Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge, as applicable, under extenuating circumstances.

We want to make sure that you have all of the information available to you so that you can make an informed and appropriate decision. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us for clarity on the process or any concerns that you may have.
To recap:

As of this morning, we expect 296 recalls to mainline for October, and 140 recalls to Rouge for November (w Rouge training to commence in Oct).

These numbers are subject to change.

Currently, the most junior person already recalled (currently flying) is seniority 16725 (Rank 3290 on the 21MAY2020 master cabin list - see below).

You may access the 21MAY2020 updated seniority list through Aeronet:
In-Flight Service-> Crew Sched&Planning-> Seniority numbers-> Seniority numbers: April2020-March2021-> MasterCabinSeniorityList_21May20

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA- List of flights with Covid Exposure

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice/exposure-flights-cruise-ships-mass-gatherings.html


GOVERNMENT OF CANADA PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/getting-workplace-ready-for-covid-19.pdf

ONTARIO MINISTRY OF HEALTH
https://www.ontario.ca/page/2019-novel-coronavirus

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA TRAVEL HEALTH SERVICES

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/travel-health-notices/221