# 2024-320 Pay and Benefits, Pilot's Pay and Promotion

Case summary

F&R Date: 2026-06-03

The grievor disputed his rate of pay on promotion to the rank of Captain (Capt), contending that the inclusion of a fixed rate in the calculation found in Annex C of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Order 030/21 – Pay Increment Policy – Pilot Pay Transition does not account for economic increases to the rates of pay in years 2021-2024 and resulted in inequitable treatment of Pilots who were in training during that time. He explained that due to Pilot training delays outside of his control, he is being placed at a lower Pay Increment (PI) than his peers with similar experience, but who were promoted slightly before him. As redress, he requested to be granted PI 5 retroactive to his promotion to the rank of Capt in April 2023. 

Director General Air Strategic Resources and Air Reserves, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), denied redress. The IA explained that there exists no authority to implement rates of pay outside of the policy to account for training delays and confirmed that the grievor had been compensated for the economic increases while on the previous Pilot pay table. The IA found that the grievor's PI had been correctly calculated based on the CDS Order 030/21 methodology and he had therefore not been aggrieved. 

The Committee found that the transaction directed at Annex C of CDS Order 030/21 placed the grievor at a significant advantage compared to having his rate of pay on promotion calculated in accordance with Compensation and Benefits Instructions for the Canadian Forces (CBI) 204.04(3) as it normally would have been. Although the Committee commented that there are issues with the authorities used in CDS Order 030/21, given that the grievor's rate of pay resulted in a significant financial advantage, it found that he had not been aggrieved. The Committee further found that as the grievor's PI was corrected effective 1 April 2024 in accordance with CBI 204.215(8) – transitional provision – Capt, he has been appropriately compensated for the economic increase. Lastly, the committee found that the Canadian Armed Forces do not have the authority to backdate the grievor's promotion to a date prior to his attainment of Wings. As such, the Committee recommended that the Final Authority not afford the grievor redress.