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Air Canada can force pilots to retire at 60, human rights tribunal rules

ROSS MAROWITS

MONTREAL (CP) - Two former Air Canada (TSX:AC.B - news) pilots didn't face age discrimination when Canada's largest airline forced them to retire at age 60, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled Friday.

The tribunal said the position of pilot carries significant prestige and neither man experienced "age-related disadvantages or negative stereotyping."

"The tribunal finds that age 60 is the normal age of retirement ... for persons working in positions similar to the positions of the complainants," said the judgment.

"As such, the mandatory retirement policy of Air Canada does not constitute a discriminatory practice under the Canadian Human Rights Act."

The decision followed hearings that took place in January and March.

George Vilven of Airdrie, Alta., and Robert Neil Kelly of Oakwood, Ont., launched their challenges after the airline forced them into retirement when they turned 60 in 2003 and 2005 respectively.

Supporting their cause was a group of pilots who belong to the Fly Past 60 Coalition.

Vilven said he's disappointed with the ruling and plans to appeal, possibly all the way to the Supreme Court.

"I thought maybe it would happen that way but I just assumed that in Canada this wouldn't be the case," he said in an interview.

The 62-year-old said the policy is out of synch with Canadian society and the airlines of many other countries.

His real fight appears to have been with his union, which he said rejected Air Canada's offer to mediate a resolution.

Capt. Andy Wilson, president of the Air Canada Pilots Association, said the ruling recognized the rights of the collective bargaining process, which resulted in the setting of the retirement age on behalf of the airline's 3,000 pilots.

"Collective bargaining is a process that is one of the policies of Canada and obviously as an association we think members of the union are in the best position to understand what their self-interests are and should be allowed to negotiate that," he said in an interview.

Wilson said the fixed age of retirement benefits its members and received vast support from pilots.

"They determined by a three-to-one margin that they prefer the system that's been in place for over 50 years."

Air Canada welcomed the ruling.

"It confirms that our retirement policy complies with the law and was fairly applied in the case of these individuals," spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said.

Although some pilots are employed by the airline following retirement, they work as instructors in ground schools and simulators.

The tribunal said 60 is the normal retirement age for pilots who fly with regularly scheduled, international flights with major airlines. Consequently, it is neither discriminatory nor contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"The purpose of (the section of the Act) is to strike a balance between the need for protection against age discrimination and the desirability of those in the workplace to bargain for an organize their own terms of employment," read the 20-page ruling.

Both complainants quickly resumed their piloting careers with other Canadian airlines that have no age maximums.

Kelly testified that he was offered employment with Skyservice Airlines as he was returning his security pass to Air Canada.

As a pilot with nearly 33 years of service, Kelly earns about $10,000 a month in pension. His Skyservice job adds another $72,000 per year. Vilven's pension is less lucrative because of his shorter work history.

Canada has no maximum licensing age for airline pilots.

However, pilots over 40 are required to have physical examinations every six months, while younger pilots undergo annual exams.

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed in January to raise the mandatory retirement age for U.S. commercial pilots. The move adheres to new standards approved in March 2006 by the International Civil Aviation Organization that raises the maximum age for pilots.

The United Nations agency also established a standard that one of the pilots in a two-pilot crew be younger than 60.