MONTREAL - Unionized pilots at Air Transat say a company subcontracting strategy is to hire foreign workers while Canadian pilots are laid off.
The pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association issued a statement on Thursday saying the airline sent layoff notices to 17 pilots last week.
The pilots also said the airline's holding company, Transat A.T., has an agreement with CanJet Airlines to operate some flights to southern destinations this winter.
The pilots say CanJet would be hiring foreign pilots to meet staffing needs.
Air Transat could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.
But the head of the airline's pilot master executive council called the domestic layoffs a "major blow" for all Canadian pilots.
"The fact that Transat A.T., through CanJet, is using foreign pilots when its own pilots are out of work is reprehensible," said Capt. Sylvain Aubin.
Meanwhile, the president of the pilots association said some airlines are abusing Canada's temporary foreign worker program by using it for competitive advantages instead of for filing a labour shortage.
The association says it will lobby the government for changes to the foreign worker program before a Senate committee on Transport and Communication next Wednesday.
Tour operator Transat A.T. (TSX:TRZ.B) — which includes Air Transat, Transat Distribution Canada and Transat Tours Canada. — had already said last month that it was trying to restore its profitability by eliminating 143 non-union positions across Canada in a bid to save $10 million a year.
It has also said it's preparing a corporate restructuring to simplify its decision making, reduce operating costs and to respond more nimbly to changes in the market.
Transat lost $2.9 million or eight cents per share for its third quarter, down from a profit of $20.9 million, or 55 cents per share a year earlier. Revenue rose to $937 million from $867.3 million.
Transat is an integrated international tour operator and holiday specialist with more than 60 destination countries, mainly in Canada and Europe as well as the Caribbean, Mexico and the Mediterranean Basin.
Its shares closed up 15 cents at $6.30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange Thursday.
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