Air Canada to resume flights after directive ending strike
The CIRB directed Air Canada to resume airline operations and for all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants to resume their duties by 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), the airline said.
Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract.
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Saudi Gazette
14 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Air Canada suspends restart plans after flight attendants union defies return to work order
MONTREAL — Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return to work order. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travellers around the world per day during the peak summer travel season. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2pm Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening. Canada's largest airline now says it will resume flights Monday evening. Air Canada said in a statement that the union 'illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.' But union members say they will continue to refuse work until their demands are heard, calling the return to work order unconstitutional. 'Our members are not going back to work,' Canadian Union of Public Employees national president Mark Hancock said outside Toronto's Pearson International Airport. 'We are saying no.' Hancock ripped up a copy of the back-to-work order outside the airport's departures terminal where union members were picketing Sunday morning. He said they won't return Tuesday either. Flight attendants chanted 'Don't blame me, blame AC' outside Pearson. 'Like many Canadians, the Minister is monitoring this situation closely. The Canada Industrial Relations Board is an independent tribunal," Jennifer Kozelj, a spokeswoman for Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said in a emailed statement. 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 is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the US has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said the CIRB has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. The bitter contract fight escalated 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. Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse. Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. 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 are already full 'due to the summer travel peak.' Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have 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 aren't in the air. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, that 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 didn't go far enough because of inflation. — Euronews
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Air Canada grounded as striking union defies order to get back to work
Air Canada's fleet of hundreds of planes remained grounded on Monday morning after striking flight attendants refused a government-backed order to get back to work and called on the airline to return to the bargaining table. The carrier, which normally carries 130,000 people daily and is part of the global Star Alliance of airlines, had planned to start ramping up operations on Sunday evening, after a labor relations board ordered the union to return to work and start binding arbitration. The union said no, setting up an almost unprecedented standoff with the Canadian government, which had requested the back-to-work order. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 10,000 Air Canada cabin crew, had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline. The attendants are striking for better wages and to be paid for work on the ground, such as boarding passengers. They currently are only paid when planes are moving, sparking some vocal support from Canadians on social media. CUPE invited Air Canada back to the table to 'negotiate a fair deal,' calling the order to end its strike unconstitutional. The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening and described the union as illegally defying the labor board. The government's options to end the strike now include asking courts to enforce the order to return to work and seeking an expedited hearing. The minority government could also try to pass legislation that would need the support of political rivals and approval in both houses of parliament, which are on break until September 15. 'The government will be very reticent to be too heavy-handed because in Canada the Supreme Court has ruled that governments have to be very careful when they take away the right to strike, even for public sector workers that may be deemed essential,' said Dionne Pohler, professor of dispute resolution at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School. Another option is to encourage bargaining, Pohler said. The government did not respond to requests for comment. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government moved to end the strike 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 previous 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 highly unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. The CUPE said its rejection was unprecedented when such an order was made according to rules, known as Section 107, that the government invoked in this case. Travelers at Toronto Pearson International Airport over the weekend said they were confused and frustrated about when they would be able to fly. Italian Francesca Tondini, 50, sitting at the Toronto airport, said she supported the union even though she had no idea when she would be able to return home. 'They are right,' she said with a smile, pointing at the striking attendants. The dispute between cabin crews and Air Canada hinges on the way airlines compensate flight attendants. Most, including Air Canada, have traditionally paid them only when planes are in motion. In their latest contract negotiations, flight attendants in both Canada and the United States have sought compensation for hours worked, including for tasks such as boarding passengers. New labor agreements at American Airlines and Alaska Airlines legally require carriers to start the clock for paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding. American's flight attendants are now also compensated for some hours between flights. United Airlines' cabin crews, who voted down a tentative contract deal last month, also want a similar provision.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Air Canada to resume flights after directive ending strike
Air Canada plans to resume flights on Sunday after the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) acted on a directive from the country's Jobs Minister Patty Hajjdu to end a cabin crew strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily CIRB directed Air Canada to resume operations and for all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants to return to their duties by 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), the airline said in a directive came after the government on Saturday moved to end the strike and require binding arbitration to break a contract impasse, an action that the country's largest carrier had sought but unionized flight attendants fiercely of Air Canada cabin crew walked off the job on Saturday for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract. In anticipation of the stoppage, the airline began canceling flights on Friday, forcing more than 100,000 travelers to scramble for alternatives or stay Canada said flights would restart on Sunday evening, but some would still be canceled over the next 7-10 days as the schedule stabilizes and returns to normal.
