Sunwing knew company was about to be sold to Westjet during labour talks, pilots union alleges

The union that represents the pilots at discount airline Sunwing has filed an official complaint with Canada's Industrial Relations Board alleging that the company negotiated a recent labour deal in bad faith because it knew a sale of the airline to Westjet was on the table. The Unifor union made a deal with the airline on behalf of the 451 pilots it represents that brought modest wage increases and improvements to other benefits. When the deal was ratified in February, it was hailed as an agreement that would bring some stability to all sides in what had been an up and down few years for the airline industry. But that optimism started to wane when the airline announced a few weeks later that it has agreed to be acquired by Calgary-based Westjet. The union is alleging that the airline's management knew that a takeover offer was in the works, and had they shared that with the union during the negotiations, they wouldn't have made the concessions they did. As such, the union is filing an official complaint with Canada's Industrial Relations Board alleging that the company was bargaining in bad faith by not disclosing its looming sale. "It was of paramount importance to the union to receive assurances from the employer that it was not discussing a sale to WestJet, as any potential sale would have had important consequences on the union's positions with respect to bargaining," the filing reads.<br/>