Air Canada mechanics, baggage handlers eye return to talks

* Union informs airline it intends to return to talks

* Rally planned for Toronto's Pearson airport on Friday

TORONTO Feb 23 (Reuters) - The union representing Air Canada's 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents said Thursday it has told the country's biggest airline it intends to return to the bargaining table after its members rejected a tentative contract agreement.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said on Wednesday that 65.6 percent of its members had voted against a tentative four-year contract deal the union had negotiated with Air Canada.

The proposed four-year contract provided wage increases, improved benefits and secured a defined benefit pension fund for workers. The agreement was reached with the help of a government-appointed conciliator, retired judge Louise Otis.

Otis will now file a report to the labor minister to determine next steps, Air Canada said Wednesday, adding that it is confident there is sufficient time for the parties to avoid a strike or lockout.

"We've informed Air Canada that we intend to go back to the bargaining table," IAMAW President Chuck Atkinson told Reuters.

"The message from our membership, with the 78 percent strike vote, was quite clear that they're not happy with the proposal and so therefore they've given us a mandate to return to the table and get more."

The union said it is planning a rally at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Friday morning in front of Air Canada's hangars to protest the tentative offer.