Air Canada (TSE:AC.B), the nation's largest airline, and the union representing about 4,100 customer service and sales agents announced a tentative five year agreement yesterday.
In a statement issued yesterday, Unifor president Jerry Dias said the agreement included protections and fair wages for workers.
Dias said in the statement that his members would decide over the next 10 days on whether to accept the deal. The airline's board of directors must also give approval.
Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada, called the tentative agreement a "win-win agreement which acknowledges the contribution of our customer service and sales agents to Air Canada's success."
The airline and Unifor had been negotiating job security and wages since January, and gate and ticket agents had voted 95 percent in favour of a strike last week.
The union will recommend ratification to its members and the company will seek the Air Canada board of director's approval for the agreement.
This tentative agreement with Unifor follows on the conclusion in October 2014 of a new agreement with Air Canada's pilots on collective agreement terms for ten years.
It is the fourth tentative collective agreement reached by Air Canada and its unions, including those with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) representing its U.S. unionized workforce and UNITE representing its U.K unionized workforce.
Air Canada has had a rocky relationship with many of its unionized workers in recent years _ the last round of bargaining was among the most acrimonious in the airline's history.
Customer service agents and sales agents walked off the job for three days in June, 2011. During roughly the same period, the airline faced protracted negotiations with both flight attendants and pilots. In 2012 baggage handlers staged an illegal walkout before being forced back to work by a court order.
Federal Labour Minister Kellie Leitch issued a statement congratulating the two parties on the deal, which was reached with the help of a federal mediator.
Shares of Air Canada were down 0.8 percent at $13.72 at 2:38 p.m. in Toronto.