Done Deal?

The Airbus-Bombardier deal – it has yet to be cleared by antitrust bodies — promises to give the European air framer a significant advantage in the single-aisle front. And, now that the unions have given the tie-up a thumbs-up, the world of aviation will wait to see if Airbus has an ace in its hands. A report

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In the beginning of March this year, the Airbus-Bombardier deal – described as the deal of the century that European airframer Airbus pulled off in the middle of October 2017 to partner Bombardier’s C Series aircraft programme –received a solid boost. While the big bosses had put their signatures to the agreement at that time, the workers were a tad uneasy. However, the boost that the deal received in March came from the workers when they voted 92.3 percent in favour of the letter of agreement during a meeting in Montreal.

The vote for a reciprocity agreement that followed was a thumbs-up for the reciprocity accord that would enable workers who moved from Bombardier to the new partnership and vice-versa to maintain seniority benefits like salary and leave as well get their pensions. In addition, workers who are laid off from one company will be given priority for future jobs in both companies. Union spokesman David Chartrand, the Quebec co-ordinator of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) was quoted saying that the agreement would create bridges between the workers’ union, Bombardier and the new limited partnership, once the deal gets the necessary approvals, creates separate entities. “When a business sells or creates a partnership, what usually happens is the workers under the group that is sold stay in that group, and there’s no bridge between the two companies…What was important to us when the announcement was made … was to sit down with the company and the partnership and make sure that there’s labour mobility, so workers can go work for one company or the other depending on need.”

It was a much-needed support that Airbus or Bombardier needed. Back in October 2017 when the deal was made public, David Chartrand was quoted saying that workers had “mixed feelings” about it. Speaking to