Flight attendants' union rejects Air Canada's request for binding arbitration as strike deadline looms
The airline and the Air Canada Component of CUPE have been in contract negotiations for months over an agreement for more than 10,000 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants. Both sides have blamed the other for stalled negotiations and misinformation about offers on the table. The main sticking points have been wages and time for hours worked.
On Thursday, federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said Air Canada had requested binding arbitration and that she had given the union until noon Friday to respond to the request.
In a statement Friday afternoon, CUPE urged Ms. Hajdu to reject the proposal, accusing Air Canada of depending on government intervention to avoid an impending strike and grounding of a massive portion of its fleet. There were no talks ongoing as of Friday afternoon.
'Rather than continuing to negotiate in good faith, Air Canada appears to have anticipated government intervention and has opted to suspend meaningful discussions, contrary to its legal obligation to bargain in good faith,' the union said in the statement.
On Wednesday, the union gave Air Canada notice of its intent to strike, which enables its flight attendants to walk off the job just before 1 a.m. Saturday morning.
In response, Air Canada issued notice it will lock out those employees shortly after that deadline, and began winding down operations across the globe. About 1,000 flights are expected to be cancelled on Saturday, grounding about 130,000 customers, according to Air Canada.
Flights had already begun to be cancelled on Thursday as Air Canada wound down operations. As of noon on Friday, just under 300 flights had been cancelled and about 56,000 customers affected, the airline said in a post on social media.
Air Canada anticipated about 500 flight cancellations Friday, though it expects additional cancellations as about 300 flight attendants did not report for work, the airline also said in a social media post.
The strike is not expected to impact flights operated by Air Canada Jazz or partner airlines.
In a post late Thursday night, the airline said about 300 flight attendants did not report for work, which would lead to additional cancellations.
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