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CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Air Canada flight attendants to remain on strike, defying government's back-to-work order
More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants will continue their strike despite back-to-work orders from the Canadian government, the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees said Sunday. 'At this time, you are still on Strike and Locked out! Please remember while we are locked out there is no obligation to be in contact with the employer, no responsibility to check Globe or your work email or to contact them for reassignment or reserve duties,' the union wrote in a committee update. The decision to remain on strike defies the Canadian Jobs Minister's decision to intervene using Section 107 of the Canada Labor Code. On Saturday, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu instructed the Canadian Labor Relations Board (CLRB) to order Air Canada and its employees to 'resume and continue their operations and duties in order to secure industrial peace and protect the interests of Canada, Canadians and the economy.' Air Canada had requested on Tuesday that the government intervene using the provision, which allows the minister to direct an arbitrator to intervene in the dispute, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said Friday in a statement. On Sunday, Air Canada said in a statement that it would restart flights. Members of the Air Canada component of CUPE voted 99.7% in favor of the strike last week and walked out around 1 a.m. ET on Saturday. The workers are seeking wage increases and paid compensation for work when planes are grounded. On Saturday, Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component of CUPE, said the Canadian government was 'violating our Charter rights to take job action and give Air Canada exactly what they want - hours and hours of unpaid labour from underpaid flight attendants, while the company pulls in sky-high profits and extraordinary executive compensation.' Air Canada has said it offered a 38% increase in total compensation over four years and an hourly raise of 12% to 16% in the first year. Hajdu denied that the Canadian government is anti-union, adding that it was clear Air Canada and union workers were 'at an impasse' and 'they need some help in arbitrating the final items.' CNN's Paula Newton contributed to this report. This is a developing story and will be updated
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canadian government moves to end Air Canada strike
STORY: The Canadian government on Saturday moved to end a strike by Air Canada's cabin crews and require binding arbitration to resolve their contract impasse. The move came after thousands of unionized flight attendants walked off the job shortly after midnight over a wage contract dispute. The strike forced Canada's largest airline to cancel all 700 of its scheduled flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers who had to find alternative flights or stay put. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said at a news conference she had asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration on both sides and immediately end the strike. "After eight months of negotiations and weeks of intensive mediation, Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Flight Attendants were unable to reach a tentative agreement. The government firmly believes that the best deals are reached by the parties at the bargaining table, and we will never stop believing that." Air Canada had asked Prime Minister Mark Carney's minority Liberal government to act. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, which represents more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, said it wanted a negotiated solution. Earlier in the day, hundreds of Air Canada employees formed a picket line outside Toronto Pearson International Airport. "I'm absolutely heartbroken. It's not something we want; we want to be flying, we just want to be compensated fully and fairly for all the hours that we are at work." The carrier had previously offered a 38% increase in total compensation for flight attendants over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year, which CUPE said was insufficient. But 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 currently paid only when their plane is moving. Hajdu said Air Canada indicated it would take four to five days to resume full operations. Solve the daily Crossword
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
Dubai to Toronto flights cancelled as Air Canada grounds all aircraft due to cabin crew strike
Air Canada has suspended all its flights amid a strike by its 10,000 flight attendants, who are demanding more pay for their work. The strike began on Saturday and also resulted in the stoppage of flights operated by the flag carrier's budget arm, Air Canada Rouge, the airline said. An Air Canada flight that was scheduled to depart from Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 early on Saturday morning to Toronto has been cancelled, according to Dubai Airports flight status data. The flight scheduled to depart on Sunday was also marked as cancelled. The airline had been gradually reducing its schedule of 700 flights daily to manage the disruption caused by the labour strike after Air Canada cabin crew, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), gave 72-hour strike notice to the airline on August 13. 'Approximately 130,000 customers will be impacted each day that the strike continues,' the airline said. It advised passengers not to go to the airport 'unless they have a confirmed ticket on an airline other than Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge'. The airline also said it will notify customers with imminent travel of additional cancelled flights and their options. 'For those customers due to travel soon whose flights are not yet cancelled, Air Canada has put in place a goodwill policy to allow them to rebook their travel or obtain a credit for future travel,' it added. Air Canada operates flights to more than 180 airports in Canada, the US and other destinations globally. The airline's flight attendants are demanding more pay for their work, including payment for carrying out duties every day before and after flights. This includes critical safety checks, boarding and deplaning procedures, assisting passengers with special needs, and preparing the cabin, they said in a post on the CUPE website. 'This practice persists because flight attendants' compensation is based on 'block time' (take-off to landing), not from when the employee begins work,' the employees said. 'Unlike most workers, flight attendants are not paid when they report for duty, even though they are expected to be in uniform, on-site, and performing job-related duties, including critical safety-related duties mandated by Transport Canada.' Passengers affected by flight cancellations were venting their frustration on social media, with additional additional spending to book hotels. In a note to clients on Friday, analysts at financial services firm TD Cowen urged the carrier to 'extend an olive branch to end the impasse,' adding that investors are worried that any cost savings on labour are outweighed by lost earnings in the airline's most important quarter. 'We think it would be best for AC to achieve labour peace,' Reuters quoted the note as saying. 'Not budging on negotiations risks being a Pyrrhic victory.'
National Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Canada Post, union disagree over taking 'five-minute wash-up time.' Here's what it is
As the possibility of a strike on Friday looms, the Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have several points that they cannot agree upon. Article content Article content The Crown Corporation received notice of a strike on Monday. It presented the union with new proposals for both of its bargaining units, Urban Postal Operation (UPO) and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC), on Wednesday. The union said it would be reviewing the offers, and said it had extended a two-week truce to Canada Post. However, the corporation refused that request, and a strike on Friday remains a possibility. Article content Article content As the review of the proposals are underway, the union said later on Wednesday that the offers 'fall short.' Article content Article content Among remaining sticking points are weekend work, benefits, wages, dynamic routing, and load levelling. The union also said that Canada Post would be 'taking away the 5-minute wash-up time.' Canada Post echoed this statement in a summary of its new global for employees in the Urban unit. The corporation said: 'We're removing the 5-minute wash-up time before the meal period.' Article content Here's what to know. Article content Five-minute wash-up time refers to time when employees can get ready before they have a meal. Article content 'Employees shall, during working hours, be allowed five (5) minutes paid wash-up time before the meal period when the nature of their work makes it necessary,' according to the Agreement between Canada Post Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Article content In a section about 'unproductive time' in Canada Post's written submission to the Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) in February, the corporation says part of the Urban agreement allows for 'five minutes of paid wash-up time to allow employees to wash their hands before a meal period when the nature of their work makes it necessary.' The commission was created to examine the key issues between both parties with a series of public hearings. Article content Article content However, Canada Post has removed wash-up time from the new Urban offer currently under review. Article content Article content Rafael Gomez, University of Toronto professor and director of the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources, said in an emailed statement to National Post on Thursday that the issue 'only inflames members and makes it more likely we will have another strike.' Article content 'I guess management is saying, 'Any worker is free to wash up after a shift is done, but why should 'I' (i.e., the employer) be asked to pay if the shift is done? Wash up on your time…no one is stopping you,'' he said. Article content He continued: 'While on the other side, the union is saying, 'Remaining healthy and ready to work another shift IS something 'you' (i.e., the employer) should care about and hence pay for.''
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Canada Post receives strike notices from postal workers union
May 19 (Reuters) - Canada Post said on Monday it had received notices from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) indicating that the union would begin strike activity from Friday, days after the postal company paused contract negotiation talks. The strike notices were received from the CUPW's urban and rural bargaining units. In case of a nationwide strike, the postal company said it would not accept any new items until the disruption was over, and mail and parcels would not be delivered.
