MONTREAL - Employees of the bankrupt aircraft maintenance firm Aveos will receive a total of $5.8 million in back pay, a Superior Court judge has ruled.

The 2,600 employees won a series of court rulings last week at the behest of trustee FTI Consulting.

Judge Mark Schrager ruled that employees can receive up to $2,000 each on condition that they give up any future claims.

In a separate order, the Superior Court ordered the Montreal company to provide third parties with physical and intellectual property.

The ruling will allow Air Canada to repossess Airbus A330 engines and related files.

About 90% of Aveo's contracts are with Air Canada.
FTI says Aveos had about $2.72 million in cash as of April 6, which is sufficient to fulfil its financial obligations.

Aveos shut its doors and announced it was ceasing operations, citing a drop in maintenance work from Air Canada, which sold it off in 2007. Plants and offices in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver were all affected.

The decision ignited a firestorm, leading to worker protests and a storm of criticism from opposition federal politicians who claim Air Canada is legally obliged to keep Aveos afloat.

Air Canada says it no longer owns Aveos and has fulfilled all of its contractual obligations.