Once they use up their paid sick days I bet the "stress" goes away. Or at least down to a level where they feel inclined to collect a paycheque again. Imagine how high the "stress" level would be if Air Canada was to declare bankruptcy and their paycheques and pensions disappeared.
I'm not really familiar anymore with their benefits, but I suspect that when their sick days run out they go on STD, and depending on the plan, it can actually be more beneficial pay wise. BTW, stress is a legitimate illness according to Transport Canada.
I would suggest that now the pilots have said they will lie they are open to have to provide independent confirmation of an actual stress issue. Every one that wants to call in 'stressed' should be made to see a third party doctor before returning to duty and if found to be false then all time is unpaid and matched by an equal number of unpaid days on suspension.
Either that or just fire all of them and hire them again at bottom wage without a union.
They never said they will lie, and as I mentioned, stress is a legitimate illness. Aeromedical examiners are independant third party doctors, your family doctor may be one of them. It is a gutsey move for the Union Chairman to state that pilots may book because of stress, if I were him I wouldn't have blabbed it ot the press. Any illegal self help is usually met with stiff penalties,especially for the union executive. That being said, if a pilot claims he or she is not fit for duty you will never find a doctor willing to risk their license to refute that claim.
If the company fires them, that sets the company up for an entirely different, and even more costly world of hurt, I've been a player in this game for too long, and it is a lot more entertaining to be a spectator.
Taxiing down the tarmac, the jetliner abruptly stopped, turned around and
returned to the gate.
After an hour-long wait, it finally took off.
A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, "What was the problem?"
"The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained the Flight
Attendant, "and it took us a while to find a new pilot".
Whoa, that's not even funny. If one pilot has a problem with an airplane, and the solution is to find another pilot, I would follow the first pilot off the thing. Sorry, I personally know of too many catastrophic accidents for which the cause was this type of solution to a problem. The hotshot who will do what others are afraid to do eventually end up killing people, I've seen it time and time again.
