Wasaya flight attendants in Thunder Bay, Ont., ratify new agreement

$100 signing bonus, more days off part of deal: IAM

Wasaya flight attendants in Thunder Bay, Ont., ratify new agreement
Wasaya Airways is a 51 per cent First Nations-owned domestic airline with headquarters in Thunder Bay, Ont. GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 714 employed as flight attendants ratified a new collective agreement on March 20 with Wasaya Airways in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The three-year agreement provides wage increases of three per cent in each year for all employees with up to five years of service, and five per cent in each of the agreement for employees with more than five years of service, said the union.

The wage increases are retroactive to March 1, 2018.

Other agreement highlights include a $100 signing bonus upon ratification, two additional personal days per year for employees with less than four years of service and three additional personal days per year for employees with more than four years of service, an increased uniform allowance and days of work changed to 19 days on and nine days off to 18 days on and 10 days off after one year, according to the union.

As well, the employees gained increased bereavement leave and an introduction of new classification of training and standards instructor, said IAM.

Wasaya Airways is a 51 per cent First Nations-owned domestic airline with headquarters in Thunder Bay, Ont. It operates from hubs in Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Pickle Lake servicing 25 communities in Northern Ontario including Attawapiskat on James Bay and Fort Severn, on Hudson’s Bay, Ontario’s most northern settlement.

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