Air Canada could shut down completely unless the airline and its flight attendants reach a deal
More than 10,000 flight attendants are poised to walk off the job around 1 a.m. EST on Saturday, followed by a company-imposed lockout. It threatens to impact about 130,000 travelers a day.
The Canadian carrier said it expects to call off 500 flights by the end of Friday ahead of the deadline. It already started canceling flights on Thursday in expectation of the massive work stoppage that could impact hundreds of thousands of travelers.
A full grounding could affect some 25,000 Canadians a day abroad who may become stranded.
"We strongly urge the parties to work with federal mediators and get a deal done. Time is precious and Canadians are counting on you," Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement Friday.
By midday Friday, Air Canada had called off 87 domestic flights and 176 international flights that were scheduled to depart on Friday and Saturday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. On Thursday, when the airline said it was beginning it's 'phased wind down' of most operations, 18 domestic flights and four international flights were canceled.
Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, which represents the flight attendants, refused to voluntarily submit to arbitration. 'The appropriate course of action is for Air Canada to return to the table and resume good faith bargaining,' it said in a statement.
The union, which represents about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, and the airline say disagreements over key issues, including pay raises, have brought contract talks to a standstill.
How long the planes will be grounded remains to be seen.
Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr said the decision to lock out the union members even if it meant halting flights would help facilitate an orderly restart, 'which under the best circumstances will take a full week to complete.'
Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal.
The union put it to a vote at the end of July and 99.7% approved a strike. On Wednesday, it gave Air Canada a 72-hour strike notice. The airline responded with a so-called lockout notice, saying it would prevent the flight attendants from working on Saturday.
The union said it rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process that would have prevented flight attendants from walking off the job, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Air Canada union says flight attendants will continue strike, airline delays restart plan
MONTREAL Aug 17 (Reuters) - Air Canada ( opens new tab flight attendants said on Sunday they would remain on strike despite a government-backed labor board's order to return to work by 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), calling the order unconstitutional. The Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement that members would remain on strike and invited Air Canada back to the table to "negotiate a fair deal." The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening. On Saturday, the Canadian government under Prime Minister Mark Carney moved to end a strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants at the country's largest carrier by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order binding arbitration. The CIRB issued the order, which Air Canada had sought, and unionized flight attendants opposed. The Canada Labour Code gives the government the power to ask the CIRB to impose binding arbitration in the interest of protecting the economy. The government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. It was not immediately clear what options the government has if the union continues its strike. Air Canada had said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening, following the expected end of the strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily flights on Saturday, stranding more than 100,000 passengers. Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract. The union called a decision by the CIRB chair Maryse Tremblay to not recuse herself from handling the case a "staggering conflict of interest," since she had worked as a senior counsel for Air Canada in the past. According to Tremblay's LinkedIn profile, she served as Air Canada's counsel from 1998 to 2004. Air Canada, the CIRB, and a Canadian government spokesperson were not immediately available for comment. Other unions joined the flight attendants' picket line in solidarity in Toronto on Sunday. "They are in support here today because they are seeing our rights being eroded," said Natasha Stea, an Air Canada flight attendant and local union president. Air Canada had started cancelling flights on Thursday in anticipation of the stoppage. Travellers at Toronto Pearson International Airport said they were confused about whether their flights would resume or Air Canada would make alternative arrangements. "We are kind of left to figure it out for ourselves and fend for ourselves with no recourse or options provided by Air Canada at this time," said Elizabeth Fourney of Vancouver. The most contentious issue has been the union's demand for compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board. Attendants are largely paid only when their plane is moving. CUPE had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline. Air Canada said on Sunday that the CIRB had ordered the terms of the collective agreement between the union and the airline that expired on March 31 be extended until a new agreement can be reached.
Western Telegraph
an hour ago
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Air Canada plans to restart services as union says attendants ‘remain on strike'
The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back by 2pm on Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening. 'We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order,' the CUPE union said in a statement. A man tries to check in to his Air Canada flight at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP) 'We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked.' The strike has stranded more than 100,000 travellers around the world during the peak summer travel season. The country's largest airline said early on Sunday that the first flights would resume later in the day but that it would take several days before its operations returned to normal. It said some flights would be cancelled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule was stabilised. People sleep under a flight information board at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP) Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now was not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the US had imposed on Canada. Ms Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said the Canada Industrial Relations Board had extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one was determined by the arbitrator. The shutdown of Canada's largest airline early on Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. An Air Canada agent, left, speaks to a man at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) According to numbers from aviation analytics provider Cirium, Air Canada had cancelled a total of 671 flights by Saturday afternoon — following 199 on Friday. A further 96 flights scheduled for Sunday were already suspended. The bitter contract fight escalated on Friday as the union turned down Air Canada's prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Flight attendants walked off the job around 1am Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. Ms Hajdu said that her Liberal government was not anti-union, saying it was clear the two sides were at an impasse. Passengers whose flights were impacted would be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. An empty Air Canada bag-drop area at Montreal–Trudeau International Airport (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines were already full 'due to the summer travel peak'. Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but are yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes are not in the air. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, which it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada'. But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year did not go far enough because of inflation.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
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Air Canada plans to restart services as union says attendants ‘remain on strike'
The union representing 10,000 striking Air Canada flight attendants has said it will challenge an order for them to return to work, adding 'we remain on strike'. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back by 2pm on Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening. Advertisement 'We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order,' the CUPE union said in a statement. A man tries to check in to his Air Canada flight at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP) 'We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked.' The strike has stranded more than 100,000 travellers around the world during the peak summer travel season. The country's largest airline said early on Sunday that the first flights would resume later in the day but that it would take several days before its operations returned to normal. Advertisement It said some flights would be cancelled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule was stabilised. People sleep under a flight information board at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP) Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now was not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the US had imposed on Canada. Ms Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said the Canada Industrial Relations Board had extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one was determined by the arbitrator. Advertisement The shutdown of Canada's largest airline early on Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. An Air Canada agent, left, speaks to a man at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) According to numbers from aviation analytics provider Cirium, Air Canada had cancelled a total of 671 flights by Saturday afternoon — following 199 on Friday. A further 96 flights scheduled for Sunday were already suspended. The bitter contract fight escalated on Friday as the union turned down Air Canada's prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Advertisement Flight attendants walked off the job around 1am Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. Ms Hajdu said that her Liberal government was not anti-union, saying it was clear the two sides were at an impasse. Passengers whose flights were impacted would be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. Advertisement An empty Air Canada bag-drop area at Montreal–Trudeau International Airport (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines were already full 'due to the summer travel peak'. Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but are yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes are not in the air. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, which it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada'. But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year did not go far enough because of inflation.
