Air Canada strike: Cabin crew defy return to work order
Air Canada said on Sunday it had suspended plans to restart operations after a union representing flight attendants said it would continue to strike.
The continued stoppage defies an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) that was requested by the Canadian government and would have had staff return to work by 2 p.m.
Ottawa time (1800 UTC/GMT) on Sunday.
The Canadian flag carrier said it instead planned to resume operations on Monday evening.
What did the union say about the Canadian flight attendants' strike?
In a statement, the union invited Air Canada back to the table, calling for the employer to "negotiate a fair deal."
"Our members are not going back to work," Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) chief Mark Hancock said while speaking outside the Pearson International Airport in Toronto.
"We are saying no," he declared.
Hancock called the negotiation process "unfair" and argued that the return to work order was unconstitutional. He said that he believed the firm refused to negotiate due to expected government support.
Some 700 daily flights were suspended on Saturday due to the strike, with over 100,000 passengers stranded.
The CUPE union had demanded flight attendants be paid for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers on board.
Currently, the workers are paid only when they are flying.
Union defies government-ordered arbitration
The union also criticized CIRB chair Maryse Tremblay for not recusing herself from the case, saying that the fact that she had previously worked as Air Canada's counsel represented a conflict of interest.
The return to work order came after the Canadian government asked the CIRB to impose binding arbitration.
Air Canada said that the CIRB had ordered the terms of a collective agreement between the union and the airline that expired on March 31 to be extended until a new deal is reached.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
6 minutes ago
- Time of India
Aluminium climbs on lower stocks, improving China demand
Advt Aluminium outperformed its peers on Thursday as lower inventories and signs of improving demand in top consumer China bolstered most-traded aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.49 per cent at 20,620 yuan ($2,872.83) per metric three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was little changed at $2,575 a ton, as of 0700 GMT."Spot (aluminium) demand has shown signs of improvement; that coupled with destocking of some products supported prices," a Shanghai-based aluminium analyst said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to earlier pull-back had sparked growing buying interest in the spot market, limiting the downside room of prices, analysts at broker Guosen Futures said on Thursday. Aluminium prices had slid for three straight sessions this week after the United States widened the 50 per cent import tariff to include products made from the lower aluminium stocks will support Shanghai prices in the face of any potential downside risks, analysts at broker Galaxy Futures said in a note on global supply, however, capped further price primary aluminium output in July rose 2.5 per cent year-on-year to 6.373 million tonnes, data from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) showed on investors are closely watching for cues from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday for a test of bets on a rate cut.A weaker US currency could help boost demand for dollar-priced copper inched down 0.05 per cent, nickel slid 0.33 per cent and tin shed 0.73 per cent while zinc advanced 0.16 per cent, lead gained 0.09 per metals lost ground. Copper shed 0.26 per cent, nickel inched down 0.25 per cent, lead lost 0.58 per cent, zinc dropped 0.43 per cent and tin nudged down 0.07 per cent.
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
How Fed Chair Powell has used Jackson Hole to signal what's next
One last time since President Donald Trump nominated him to lead the U.S. central bank in late 2017, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday will walk through the Jackson Lake Lodge's expansive lobby, past the taxidermied grizzly bear, and into a ballroom lighted with elk-antler chandeliers to deliver a speech at the global central bankers' influential symposium in Wyoming. In his seven previous Jackson Hole speeches, Powell has touched on a range of issues, from esoteric economic concepts and monetary policy history lessons to pledges of policy support through the COVID-19 pandemic and the central bank's determination to win the inflation war that followed. Each speech, too, has included some measure of preview for the Fed 's next interest rate moves, and that above all else is why Powell will have the world's attention at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Friday. Here is what he has previously said, and what happened next: by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like How much is your car worth? Take a look here Cars | Value Click Here 2018: STARS AND RATE HIKES AHEAD Powell's first - and longest - Jackson Hole speech set out his approach to policymaking, focused on "navigating by the stars" - the economics world's shorthand for concepts like the natural rate of unemployment and neutral interest rate. He did, though, offer a view on what was coming down the pike. Live Events What Powell said: "Let me conclude by returning to the matter of navigating between the two risks I identified - moving too fast and needlessly shortening the expansion, versus moving too slowly and risking a destabilizing overheating. ... I see the current path of gradually raising interest rates as the FOMC's approach to taking seriously both of these risks." What the Fed did: Following the two quarter-percentage-point rate hikes in the first half of the year, the central bank's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee delivered two more quarter-percentage-point hikes before the end of the year. 2019: TRUMP TARIFFS 1.0 AND RATE CUTS Part history lesson and part dissection of the trade policy moves in Trump's first term in the White House that were starting to blur the outlook, Powell's 2019 speech was met within hours by the U.S. president asking on social media "who is our bigger enemy" - Powell or Chinese leader Xi Jinping? What Powell said: "We have been monitoring three factors that are weighing on this favorable outlook: slowing global growth, trade policy uncertainty, and muted inflation. ... we will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion, with a strong labor market and inflation near its symmetric 2% objective." What the Fed did: It followed a quarter-percentage-point rate cut that July with two more such reductions in borrowing costs in September and October, far less than what Trump had demanded. Then the pandemic arrived, and everything changed. 2020: 'INCLUSIVE' EMPLOYMENT, AVERAGE 2% INFLATION Delivered remotely because of the pandemic, Powell's speech in 2020 laid out a new approach to policy that placed greater weight on defending the Fed's employment mandate. What Powell said: "Our revised statement emphasizes that maximum employment is a broad-based and inclusive goal. ... Employment can run at or above real-time estimates of its maximum level without causing concern, unless accompanied by signs of unwanted increases in inflation or the emergence of other risks that could impede the attainment of our goals. ... Following periods when inflation has been running below 2%, appropriate monetary policy will likely aim to achieve inflation moderately above 2% for some time." What the Fed did: In September it adopted a new three-part test, seen at the time as an outgrowth of the new framework, for raising interest rates: the attainment of maximum employment and 2% inflation, and indications that inflation will "moderately exceed 2% for some time." The promise helped support the economy's recovery from the pandemic shock, but the stringent hurdle for restarting rate hikes was later blamed for slowing the Fed's response to inflation the following year. 2021: NO RATE HIKES NEEDED FOR NOW In a second straight virtual appearance, Powell dismissed signs of the coming inflation wave as "transitory" - a word he has come to regret ever uttering. What Powell said: "Current high inflation readings are likely to prove transitory ... If a central bank tightens policy in response to factors that turn out to be temporary, the main policy effects are likely to arrive after the need has passed ... Today, with substantial slack remaining in the labor market and the pandemic continuing, such a mistake could be particularly harmful." What the Fed did: It began slowing its asset purchases in November and held the policy rate steady at the near-zero level until March 2022. Critics at the time, and most Fed policymakers since, have said the assessment of inflation as "transitory" was a mistake that delayed the start of the rate hikes needed to fight inflation. 2022: RATE HIKES, AND PAIN, AHEAD Mincing no words in his shortest Jackson Hole speech, Powell made clear the Fed's intent to bring inflation to heel, no matter the pain it might cause. What Powell said: "While higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. ... At some point, as the stance of monetary policy tightens further, it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases. Restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive policy stance for some time." What the Fed did: It delivered two more 75-basis-point rate increases to follow the two it had done in the meetings before Powell's speech, and then increased the policy rate in smaller increments until it reached the 5.25%-5.50% range in July 2023. 2023: RATE HIKES STILL POSSIBLE In remarks that were less stern than those delivered the previous year, Powell held out the possibility of more rate hikes while acknowledging the signs of progress in reining in inflation. What Powell said: "We will proceed carefully as we decide whether to tighten further or, instead, to hold the policy rate constant and await further data. Restoring price stability is essential to achieving both sides of our dual mandate. ... We will keep at it until the job is done." What the Fed did: It held the policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range, set just weeks before Powell's speech, for a little over a year. 2024: RATE CUTS COMING SOON Risks had now shifted from inflation to employment, and Powell sent a clear signal that rate cuts were coming. What Powell said: "My confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%. ... We do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions. ... The time has come for policy to adjust." What the Fed did: It ended the year-long hold on the policy rate by cutting it by half of a percentage point in September 2024, and by another half a percentage point over the final two meetings of 2024.
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Delta Flight DL668 makes emergency landing in Columbus after passenger medical crisis
Delta Air Lines Flight DL668, en route from New York to San Francisco on August 20, 2025, made an emergency landing in Columbus after a passenger experienced severe labor pains. The crew coordinated with air traffic control and local medical personnel, ensuring the passenger received immediate care before the flight resumed with minimal delay Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Delta Flight DL668 departed New York's JFK Airport at approximately 11:22 UTC, heading to San Francisco International Airport. During cruising at 32,000 feet, a passenger experienced severe labor pains, prompting the flight crew to alert the cockpit. Recognizing the urgency, the crew requested an emergency landing at John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH).Rapid response and safe landingThe flight crew coordinated with air traffic control, obtaining approval for the diversion. The Boeing 757-200 descended and landed safely at Columbus International Airport at approximately 12:46 UTC. Medical personnel were ready upon arrival, ensuring the affected passenger received immediate attention. Delta's ground team worked closely with local medical staff to stabilize the passenger before transport to a read: Midair Plane Engine Fire: Did anyone survive? Scary incident forces passengers to send 'goodbye texts'. He Crew coordination and passenger safetyThe flight crew's professionalism was essential in managing the high-stress situation. Flight attendants quickly identified the medical emergency and alerted the cockpit, enabling a swift diversion. 'The ability to respond quickly and efficiently to medical emergencies ensures that passengers' lives can be protected,' noted Delta Air Lines in a of flight to San FranciscoAfter approximately two hours on the ground, Flight DL668 resumed at 14:37 UTC. The aircraft arrived at San Francisco International Airport at 18:55 UTC without further incident. Passengers were informed of the delay, and airline staff ensured ongoing communication regarding the medical similar incidentsDelta has responded to similar medical emergencies in the past. On July 6, 2025, Flight DL170, en route from Seoul to Minneapolis, diverted to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after an elderly passenger faced a health crisis. Quick coordination between crew and medical personnel ensured safe treatment and continuity of travel.
