The Airline Pilots Association has taken the rare step of slamming another union in defence of recently introduced crew rest provisions in Canada. ALPA’s international president Capt. Joe DePete said in a news release that Unifor, which represents Cargojet pilots, is supporting the company’s attempts to dilute the new rules. “Specifically, it has come to my attention that you may be in favor of Cargojet’s expected request for exemptions to Transport Canada regulations regarding flight, duty, and rest requirements,” DePete said in a strongly worded letter to Unifor President Jerry Dias. “If true, this would be an extraordinary betrayal of the hardworking women and men you purport to represent.”
The new rules reduce work period and duty days and take into account human sleep patterns as part of the new limits. “Our members have reported that these science- based rules, while not perfect, represent a significant improvement over the previous set of regulations in Canada,” DePete said. “Any exemption, waiver or weakening of these regulations would undermine safety and be a slap in the face to those who fought so hard to have them enacted in the first place.” ALPA also wrote Cargojet CEO Ajay Virmani with its concerns.