Canadian government intervenes in Air Canada flight attendant strike
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Wall Street Journal
18 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Air Canada Flight Attendants to Defy Back to Work Order
OTTAWA—The union representing 10,000 flight attendants at Canada's biggest airline, Air Canada AC 0.56%increase; green up pointing triangle, says its members will disobey a government order to return to work, putting the carrier's plans to restart flights into jeopardy. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, also known as CUPE, said Sunday it would ask a judge with the country's Federal Court to block the government's order, issued hours after flight attendants walked off the job following months of negotiations over compensation.
CBS News
18 minutes ago
- CBS News
Air Canada says it will resume flights after government forced arbitration with flight attendants
Air Canada said it plans to resume flights on Sunday after the Canadian government intervened, forcing the airline and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration. The strike, which began on Saturday morning, stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season. The North American country's largest airline said in a release that the first flights will resume Sunday evening but that it will take several days before its operations return to normal. It said some flights will be canceled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule is stabilized. However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the 10,000 flight attendants, said the demonstrations will keep going around the country, despite the airline's statement. "We invite Air Canada back to the table to negotiate a fair deal, rather than relying on the federal government to do their dirty work for them when bargaining gets a little bit tough," the union said. "We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked." Fewer 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 U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said Sunday the Canada Industrial Relations Board has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. The shutdown of Canada's largest airline early 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 had canceled a total of 671 flights by Saturday afternoon, following 199 on Friday. And another 96 flights scheduled for Sunday were already suspended. 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. Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. Last year, the government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. The Business Council of Canada had urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this case, too. And the Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the intervention. 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 the Canadian Union of Public Employees 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.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Air Canada Strike To Continue Despite Government Order
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Flight attendants for Air Canada will continue to strike despite a back-to-work order issued by the Canadian Government, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said in an interview with Radio-Canada Sunday. The announcement came just a day after the Canadian government ordered the union and airline back into arbitration. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board acted on a directive from the country's Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, ordering 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 on Sunday, Newsweek previously reported. Air Canada said previously that they would resume operations Sunday following the cabin crew strike that grounded hundreds of flights, causing cancellations affecting tens of thousands passengers. The strike came following requests for pay increases and better working conditions, CUPE said in a statement issued Saturday. "The Liberal government has invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end a strike by Air Canada flight attendants fighting to end unpaid work and poverty wages," CUPE said in the statement. Newsweek has reached out to CUPE via email for more information Sunday. This is a breaking news story. Updates to come.
