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Tentative agreement reached between Air Canada and its flight attendants

The union representing Air Canada's 6,800 flight attendants has reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the company. After 17 weeks of negotiations, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Air Canada component will now take the tentative deal to its membership for ratification.

The five year agreement includes wages increases, pension protection, better crew rest, and increased meal allowances. Some issues related to pensions will be referred to arbitration.

"We are happy with the deal. We believe this is the best agreement we could get in the current context," says Jeff Taylor, president of CUPE's Air Canada component. "We will now embark on a road show across the country to present the terms of the agreement to our membership. A ratification vote will likely be held within three weeks."

CUPE will not be commenting any further on the tentative agreement until it is presented to the Air Canada component membership.

The latest collective agreement expired on March 31, 2011. Negotiations have been ongoing since April 6.