Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Support Fair Scheduling for Bilingual (French) Agents at Air Canada – End Discriminatory Bidding Practices
Final supporters
Bilingual (French) agents at Air Canada’s Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), are calling for fairer scheduling practices and an end to the discriminatory bid system that disproportionately affects us.
Despite our years of dedication and our valuable bilingual proficiency in Canada’s official languages, we are subjected to rigid, inequitable schedules that compromise our well-being and work-life balance. Instead of being acknowledged and rewarded, our bilingual skills have become a burden. This unjust treatment is unacceptable.
Our Concerns:
Discriminatory Bidding: French-speaking agents are unfairly placed in restrictive bids, facing schedules that disadvantage us compared to our colleagues proficient in other languages.
Lack of Flexibility: Our requests for a fairer, more balanced schedule have been ignored. More 4x3 schedule cycle for part-time agents would significantly improve our work-life balance.
Disproportionate amounts of early morning Lobby shifts.
Considerable amount of Mixed time on shift cycle
Limited Weekend Options:We are denied fair opportunities for full and partial weekends off, unlike our peers.
Our Requests:
1. Implement more 4x3 schedule for part-time bilingual agents.
2. Offer fair bidding opportunities without discrimination based on language with respect to our accrued company service.
3. Provide more weekend options for bilingual agents, respecting seniority.
4. Ops AF BL or gate support BL are other lines than can help the operations with the language requirements need.( FT or PT)
We are not asking for special treatment. We are simply requesting a fair and inclusive workplace that values and respects the essential role bilingual agents play in serving Air Canada’s diverse clientele. Our language skills are an asset, and it’s time they are treated as such.
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Safety Concerns of Mixed Bid Lines
Updates
March 23, 2025
Air Canada continues to treat our bilingual skills like a burden rather than the asset they are. Management ignores our calls for basic scheduling fairness while they keep forcing us into these punishing shifts. We are not backing down until they stop this discrimination.
Reached 100 supporters
March 23, 2025
37 Comments
Being forced I'm ok with. I want to use my French. Being forced to give up my seniority at bid time is not exceptable. At time of bid there many shifts I'd prefer out of the 20+ pages BUT I'm only to choose from 3 pages. An agent recently hired will have a better shift choice then myself.
Currently working in Réservation ( transferred during COVID era) if I put my transfer back to the Airport I would be forced on BL line with my Seniority ( Was hired in 2000). I totally support this cause .
Air Canada is federally mandated to maintain a certain number of French speaking agents and is NOT living up to that mandate. Air Canada cannot seem retain French speaking agents be it due to poor wages or the deplorable hours or a combination of both. This should not be an issue for those French speaking agents who are still here. We are suffering because of this and it is simply unjust.
After 25 years with the company I’m expecting to be forced this bid. After having decent shifts for the past few bids, there is absolutely nothing that works for work life balance. Being restricted with shift trading after taking the shift that you don’t want is going to put care and class on another level.
BL agents are totally discriminated upon. We are treated unfairly. We do not carry the same Rights as non-language agents. Restricted trading. Not allowed to be awarded RO ever!!!
In all fairness AC needs to hire more bilingual agents.
We, as BL agents need to see an advantage/ fairness of being able to speak THE SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. Instead of that: AGENTS WITH LESS SENIORITY than me can hold a line with a better start time ( better sleep = better PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH) and on top of that, that same person can also get Saturday and Sunday off Me on the contrary ( to get a chance to have a partial weekend off ) I had to bid a 3am start (and not even on a 4x3 rotation ) I had to do it on a 5x2 rotation How is that possible ? Agents WITH LESS SENIORITY than me can easily get RO ( whole shift or a partial ) and WE don’t. Agents WITH LESS SENIORITY than me can shift trade ( the whole shift or a partial covered ) with EVERY SINGLE AGENT without a problem (sometimes they just put it in the pool and within less than 5 min the shift is gone ) meanwhile WE BL agents are always doing crazy things in order to get even an hour covered. Sometimes BL people have to offer to work 2 shifts in order to get 1 covered, why ? Because we are desperate ! We can only trade with a specific small amount of people and how many of them have for example the weekend off ? What happens when we call on sick, FR or we are on vacation ? WE ARE NOT COVERED BY A BL AGENT. Instead of that, a NON BL AGENT WILL BE IN OUR POST and the question is ¿ in that case IT’S RIGHT ? ( ¿ no operational needs ?) And I can go on and on and on … What is the company doing to attract more BL AGENTS ? Posting an offer that stays up for 3 days ? It sounds like a joke right ?! What is the company doing to keep the ones that are already working in the sales department ? ( people are leaving the company, going to work for GTAA because the salary is wayyy better and THEY EVEN GET A BONUS JUST BECAUSE THEY SPEAK FRENCH. Agents are also moving to in-flight, reservations, a government office or even going in the construction market and there is a reason … and we all know which one it is … BECAUSE THERE IS NO BENEFITS/ F
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Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Support Fair Scheduling for Bilingual (French) Agents at Air Canada – End Discriminatory Bidding Practices
Final supporters
Bilingual (French) agents at Air Canada’s Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), are calling for fairer scheduling practices and an end to the discriminatory bid system that disproportionately affects us.
Despite our years of dedication and our valuable bilingual proficiency in Canada’s official languages, we are subjected to rigid, inequitable schedules that compromise our well-being and work-life balance. Instead of being acknowledged and rewarded, our bilingual skills have become a burden. This unjust treatment is unacceptable.
Our Concerns:
Discriminatory Bidding: French-speaking agents are unfairly placed in restrictive bids, facing schedules that disadvantage us compared to our colleagues proficient in other languages.
Lack of Flexibility: Our requests for a fairer, more balanced schedule have been ignored. More 4x3 schedule cycle for part-time agents would significantly improve our work-life balance.
Disproportionate amounts of early morning Lobby shifts.
Considerable amount of Mixed time on shift cycle
Limited Weekend Options:We are denied fair opportunities for full and partial weekends off, unlike our peers.
Our Requests:
1. Implement more 4x3 schedule for part-time bilingual agents.
2. Offer fair bidding opportunities without discrimination based on language with respect to our accrued company service.
3. Provide more weekend options for bilingual agents, respecting seniority.
4. Ops AF BL or gate support BL are other lines than can help the operations with the language requirements need.( FT or PT)
We are not asking for special treatment. We are simply requesting a fair and inclusive workplace that values and respects the essential role bilingual agents play in serving Air Canada’s diverse clientele. Our language skills are an asset, and it’s time they are treated as such.
Updates
March 23, 2025
Air Canada continues to treat our bilingual skills like a burden rather than the asset they are. Management ignores our calls for basic scheduling fairness while they keep forcing us into these punishing shifts. We are not backing down until they stop this discrimination.
Reached 100 supporters
March 23, 2025
37 Comments
Only at Air Canada is it a disadvantage to have both official languages of Canada.
Being forced I'm ok with. I want to use my French. Being forced to give up my seniority at bid time is not exceptable. At time of bid there many shifts I'd prefer out of the 20+ pages BUT I'm only to choose from 3 pages. An agent recently hired will have a better shift choice then myself.
Currently working in Réservation ( transferred during COVID era) if I put my transfer back to the Airport I would be forced on BL line with my Seniority ( Was hired in 2000). I totally support this cause .
Air Canada is federally mandated to maintain a certain number of French speaking agents and is NOT living up to that mandate. Air Canada cannot seem retain French speaking agents be it due to poor wages or the deplorable hours or a combination of both. This should not be an issue for those French speaking agents who are still here. We are suffering because of this and it is simply unjust.
After 25 years with the company I’m expecting to be forced this bid. After having decent shifts for the past few bids, there is absolutely nothing that works for work life balance. Being restricted with shift trading after taking the shift that you don’t want is going to put care and class on another level.
BL agents are totally discriminated upon. We are treated unfairly. We do not carry the same Rights as non-language agents. Restricted trading. Not allowed to be awarded RO ever!!!
In all fairness AC needs to hire more bilingual agents.
We, as BL agents need to see an advantage/ fairness of being able to speak THE SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. Instead of that: AGENTS WITH LESS SENIORITY than me can hold a line with a better start time ( better sleep = better PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH) and on top of that, that same person can also get Saturday and Sunday off Me on the contrary ( to get a chance to have a partial weekend off ) I had to bid a 3am start (and not even on a 4x3 rotation ) I had to do it on a 5x2 rotation How is that possible ? Agents WITH LESS SENIORITY than me can easily get RO ( whole shift or a partial ) and WE don’t. Agents WITH LESS SENIORITY than me can shift trade ( the whole shift or a partial covered ) with EVERY SINGLE AGENT without a problem (sometimes they just put it in the pool and within less than 5 min the shift is gone ) meanwhile WE BL agents are always doing crazy things in order to get even an hour covered. Sometimes BL people have to offer to work 2 shifts in order to get 1 covered, why ? Because we are desperate ! We can only trade with a specific small amount of people and how many of them have for example the weekend off ? What happens when we call on sick, FR or we are on vacation ? WE ARE NOT COVERED BY A BL AGENT. Instead of that, a NON BL AGENT WILL BE IN OUR POST and the question is ¿ in that case IT’S RIGHT ? ( ¿ no operational needs ?) And I can go on and on and on … What is the company doing to attract more BL AGENTS ? Posting an offer that stays up for 3 days ? It sounds like a joke right ?! What is the company doing to keep the ones that are already working in the sales department ? ( people are leaving the company, going to work for GTAA because the salary is wayyy better and THEY EVEN GET A BONUS JUST BECAUSE THEY SPEAK FRENCH. Agents are also moving to in-flight, reservations, a government office or even going in the construction market and there is a reason … and we all know which one it is … BECAUSE THERE IS NO BENEFITS/ F
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Only at Air Canada is it a disadvantage to have both official languages of Canada.