MONTREAL — Bombardier Inc, the world’s third largest civil plane maker, said on Friday it had broken off contract talks with the union representing 7,500 striking Montreal-based aerospace workers because of unacceptable union wage demands, a wire service reports.
“Faced with what we consider unrealistic union demands, we left the bargaining table today,” Bombardier spokesman John Paul Macdonald told Reuters.
Talks had resumed only the day before between management and local 712 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The Quebec government had appointed an arbitrator on Tuesday in the hope the two sides could find a solution to the two-week strike.
Three assembly plants for Bombardier’s popular Canadair Regional Jet have been idled since April 15. The workers went on strike after 60 percent voted to reject the company’s last offer.
The arbitrator has asked both sides to meet again on Monday. Bombardier said it would decide its course of action over the weekend.
“I can’t say what will happen tomorrow or the next day,” the company spokesman said.
Bombardier said the union came back to the bargaining table with demands that were 40 percent higher than what the company was ready to give.
The union refused to comment on its demands, saying it wanted to settle the dispute at the bargaining table, not through the media.
“We are ready to negotiate but we can’t negotiate alone,” Vincent Blais, spokesman for the union said.
“If the company thinks we are not serious, they can come down to our picket lines and they’ll see we are not there for pleasure,” Blais said.
Bombardier has offered a wage hike of 3.25 percent in each year of a four-year deal and a signing bonus of C$1,000 ($640). The company said the union’s new demands are for an annual salary increase of 4.25 percent in each year of a four-year contract, plus the C$1,000 signing bonus.
Bombardier shares closed 50 Canadian cents lower at C$13.34 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock has lost 9 percent of its value since the start of the strike. Investors fear a prolonged strike could hurt Bombardier plane deliveries and profit, but most analysts say the strike is likely to be resolved soon.