In 1988, we studied the essence and spirit of the act, which clearly said that Air Canada has an obligation to maintain its operational and overhaul centres in the three cities named: Montreal, Mississauga and Winnipeg. Considering what has been read to you, it is clear and plain that Air Canada is not complying with the act at present. Because it is not complying with the act, we are afraid that over 3,000 jobs are in danger of being transferred to El Salvador and that layoffs in excess of that number will continue. That is what we are afraid of at present.
I want to tell you what protections we have and why we are afraid of this.
At present, Air Canada provides three protections for our jobs, and for the aviation industry in Canada which is found in all provinces—Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec. First, there is the Air Canada Public Participation Act, which guarantees that the centres where Air Canada planes are maintained and overhauled, and the jobs in those centres, will be preserved. Second, Air Canada has planes that need maintenance. Third, there is a contracting-out clause in our collective agreement, so that if Air Canada wants to send planes outside Canada for maintenance, there must first be a discussion with the union. The company has to agree with the union if it wants the work to be done outside Canada.
Now let's talk about what we're afraid of. First, if the Conservative government in power did not enforce the law, the jobs would end up at Aveos and would ultimately be moved to El Salvador. The three protections we have with Air Canada would not apply, since the Air Canada Public Participation Act applies solely to Air Canada. It does not apply to Aveos. Aveos would have no obligation to preserve the three operational and overhaul centres. Second, Aveos does not own any planes and so does not need repair services. It works by contract. That protection would also be eliminated. Third, the contracting-out clause applies because Air Canada has planes. Aveos has no planes, however, and that means the third protection would disappear. That is why we are afraid that the jobs would be moved to El Salvador.
As well, Calin Rovinsecu, who is currently the President of Air Canada, put on what we call a road show. He explained that starting in 2013, Air Canada employees, who will then be at Aveos, will have to compete with the employees working in El Salvador in terms of wages. Workers in El Salvador earn 15% of our wages. It is impossible to compete with them. Given that Air Canada's and Aveos' ultimate goal is to make maximum profits in minimum time, we can be sure that starting in 2013 the aviation industry, and more specifically maintenance, will be relocated to El Salvador.