Chaos and confusion plagues Bombardier workers at Mirabel

MONTREAL — Some 4,000 Bombardier Aerospace employees have been called to a special meeting in Montreal today as the manufacturer and Airbus are finalizing their partnership to produce C Series aircraft.

While few details about the meeting have been released, a union spokesman says workers will have to decide on the future of their working conditions after a presentation made by their union representatives.

Although they are spread over three sites, the aerospace workers are covered by the same employment contract, which is due to expire in 2019.

However, under the deal with Airbus, the limited partnership created to build C Series will now become responsible for approximately 2,000 employees at the Mirabel plant.

A spokeman for the aerospace and machinist workers union told The Canadian Press last week that many employees have questions about working conditions under Airbus, which will hold 50.1 per cent of the new partnership.

Guillaume Valois has said they also want to know what happens to their seniority, pension plans, and the process to be followed in case of layoffs.