China urges Canada to 'correct wrongdoing' over Hikvision shutdown
In a statement published on its website, the Chinese ministry vowed to take the "necessary measures" to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses.
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BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Air Canada suspends restart plans after union defies return-to-work order
Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it would defy a return-to-work order. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2pm on Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening. Advertisement 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'. People wait outside an Air Canada check-in at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP) 'Our members are not going back to work,' Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) national president Mark Hancock said earlier on Sunday outside Toronto's Pearson International Airport. 'We are saying no.' Advertisement The federal government did not immediately provide comment on the union refusing to return to work. Mr Hancock said the 'whole process has been unfair' and said the union would challenge what it called an unconstitutional order. 'Air Canada has really refused to bargain with us and they refused to bargain with us because they knew this government would come in on their white horse and try and save the day,' he said. A man tries to check in to his Air Canada flight at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP) The federal government did not immediately provide comment on the union refusing to return to work. Advertisement The country's largest airline had said early on Sunday in a release 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. 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. Advertisement People sleep under a flight information board at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP) 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. According to numbers from aviation analytics provider Cirium, Air Canada cancelled a total of 494 flights on Sunday morning. This was in addition to the hundreds of flights it cancelled in the previous days. Advertisement 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. Air Canada Suspends Plans to Restart Operations after CUPE Defies CIRB Directive to Return to Work: — Air Canada (@AirCanada) August 17, 2025 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. 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'. An Air Canada agent, left, speaks to a man at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) 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 are not 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 did not go far enough because of inflation.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Air Canada flight attendants continue strike despite order to return, airline delays restart
MONTREAL Aug 17 (Reuters) - Air Canada ( opens new tab flight attendants remained on strike on Sunday past the deadline in a government-backed labor board's order to return to work, causing the country's biggest airline to delay restarting operations. 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," calling the order to end its strike unconstitutional. The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government moved to end the strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants 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'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 is on break until September 15. The government did not respond to requests for comment. "The federal government has entrusted a board to administer these rules in the Canadian Labor Code, and if you defy them, you are transgressing and essentially violating the law," said Rafael Gomez, a professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto. 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. Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract. 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. 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. The CIRB did not respond to a request 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. Travelers 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.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Air Canada says it is restarting flights after strike stranded 100,000 travellers
Air Canada plans to resume flights on Sunday evening after the Canadian government intervened in a strike by its flight attendants. The strike, which began early Saturday, stranded over 100,000 travellers daily and led to hundreds of flight cancellations during the peak summer travel season. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work less than 12 hours after the walkout, citing economic risks and referring the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline anticipates it will take several days for operations to return to normal, with some cancellations expected over the next seven to ten days. The dispute between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees centres on pay and unpaid work, with the union rejecting the airline's offer of a 38% increase in total compensation over four years.
