Air Canada flight attendants issue strike notice, as company plans lockout
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Air Canada component announced the move to members shortly after midnight Wednesday, saying the strike notice had been issued at 12:58 a.m. Eastern daylight time.
'This decision was not made lightly, but it is necessary,' the union wrote in a bargaining update. 'We are ready. We are strong and we will not back down.'
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Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE's Air Canada component, said in the strike notice to the company that it had ceased to engage in 'meaningful dialogue' on critical issues.
'Regrettably, the Company ceased to engage in meaningful dialogue on these critical issues, leaving us with no choice but to move forwardi n a manner that may impact the travel plans and long-anticipated vacations of the public,' he wrote.
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CUPE's notice comes hours after Air Canada said negotiations with the union had reached an 'impasse.'
The airline said in a news release Tuesday that the union had submitted a counteroffer that seeks 'unsustainable' and 'exorbitant' increases to compensation, and also rejected an offer by the company to enter arbitration with a third party.
More to come
—with files from Global News' Sean Boynton and Uday Rana and The Canadian Press
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