Air Canada workers picket airports after flight attendants strike over wages

Express Tribune

3 days ago

People hold placards as a strike begins after the union representing Air Canada's 10,000 flight attendants failed to reach an agreement with the airline, at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Quebec, Canada August 16, 2025.PHOTO: REUTERS
Hundreds of Air Canada employees formed picket lines outside major Canadian airports and business leaders sought government intervention on Saturday, hours after unionized flight attendants walked off the job over a wage contract dispute.
The strike, which started just before 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT), forced Canada's largest airline to cancel all of its 700 daily flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers who had to find alternative flights or stay put.
The airline said in a statement on Saturday that it has started locking out thousands of flight attendants in response to the strike action.
The carrier had offered a 38% increase in total compensation for flight attendants over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year, which the Canadian Union of Public Employees said was insufficient.
CUPE, representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, confirmed the work stoppage in a social media post. It is the first strike by Air Canada flight attendants since 1985.
Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component of CUPE, said in a press conference in Toronto that, as of Saturday morning, there were no bargaining sessions scheduled between the two sides, which have held on-and-off negotiations for months.
Read More: Canada sheds 40,800 jobs as tariffs dent hiring
"We are here because Air Canada forces us to work for free for hours and hours every day, and we are here because we are not going to accept it anymore," he said.
Outside Toronto Pearson International Airport - the country's busiest - hundreds of cabin crew waved flags, banners and picket signs. Union officials called on members to assemble outside all of the country's major airports, including in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.
Montreal-based Air Canada said the suspended flights included those operated by its budget arm, Air Canada Rouge. The stoppage would affect about 130,000 customers a day, the carrier said in a statement. Flights by Air Canada's regional affiliates - Air Canada Jazz and PAL Airlines - will operate as usual.
Wage dispute
The dispute between the union and the airline centers on wages. Attendants are currently paid only when their plane is moving. The union is seeking compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board.
A US judge kept his block on President Donald Trump's buyout plan for federal employees in place on Monday.
The union has said Air Canada offered to compensate flight attendants for some work that is now unpaid but only at 50% of their hourly rate.
A source close to the negotiations told Reuters the union is looking for parity on wages with Canadian leisure carrier Air Transat, where flight attendants approved a contract last year that provided for total compounded increases of 30% over five years, making them the highest paid in the industry in Canada.
Air Canada did not confirm if such a proposal had been put forth by the union.
"What we're asking for is not unreasonable. It is not a high demand. It is not that far off other competitors such as Air Transat. It is realistic and it is deserved," Lesosky from CUPE said.
The impact of a strike will ripple far beyond Canada. Air Canada is the busiest foreign carrier servicing the U.S. by number of scheduled flights.