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Canada News.Net
2 hours ago
- Business
- Canada News.Net
Canadian government weighs next move in unprecedented airline strike
MONTREAL, Canada: Air Canada's operations were paralyzed on the morning of August 18 after striking flight attendants refused to comply with a government-backed order to return to work, escalating one of the most dramatic labor confrontations in recent Canadian history. The airline, which normally transports 130,000 passengers daily as part of the Star Alliance network, had expected to resume flights on the evening of August 17. The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) had ordered the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing 10,000 flight attendants, to return to work and submit to binding arbitration. Instead, the union rejected the directive, calling it unconstitutional and urging Air Canada to return to the bargaining table. CUPE insists that binding arbitration would relieve pressure on the airline and deny workers the leverage they need to secure better pay. The strike centers on wages and a demand that attendants be compensated for ground duties—such as boarding passengers—that airlines traditionally exclude from paid hours. Air Canada flight attendants, like most in North America, are only paid once the aircraft is moving. "We are ready to negotiate a fair deal," CUPE declared, urging Air Canada to abandon arbitration and sit down to bargain. On social media, many Canadians voiced support for the strikers, arguing that attendants deserve pay for all work performed. Air Canada, meanwhile, accused the union of defying the law and postponed its restart plans until the evening of August 18. Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government, which triggered the back-to-work order through the CIRB, now faces an unusual challenge: a union openly rejecting a ruling issued under Section 107 of Canadian labor law. Such defiance is virtually unprecedented. The government could ask the courts to enforce the order, push for emergency legislation when Parliament reconvenes in September, or continue to encourage fresh negotiations. Experts warn, however, that the Supreme Court of Canada has placed limits on government intervention in strikes, even in essential sectors. The dispute reflects a broader labor trend across North America. American Airlines and Alaska Airlines have recently agreed to compensate attendants during boarding, and crews at United Airlines are also pushing for similar terms. For many Air Canada workers, this strike is about aligning with those new standards. At Toronto Pearson Airport, stranded passengers expressed both frustration and sympathy. "They are right," said Italian traveler Francesca Tondini, who supported the attendants even as she remained unsure when she could fly home. With thousands stranded and the country's largest airline grounded, the standoff underscores the stakes of how airlines compensate the people responsible for passenger safety and service.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
‘I cried': Air Canada strike costs young Girl Guides member trip of a lifetime
One activity planned for this week would've been a feather in the cap for 15-year-old Montrealer Mikaela Hosein-Patel after 10 years as a Girl Guide: her first-ever trip to Scotland. 'I was looking forward to the train ride from London to Edinburgh the most, and the (Royal Edinburgh) Military Tattoo,' she told Global News. 'I've been planning this trip for two years.' Hosein-Patel and 15 other guides and guide leaders from across the country were to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime trip organized by Girl Guides of Canada to visit parts of the U.K. They were scheduled to leave Toronto on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 16, for nine days. When her flight from Montreal to Toronto was cancelled, her dad, Pramit Patel, drove her to Toronto to catch the connecting flight to London's Heathrow Airport, but when they got there, they got more bad news. Story continues below advertisement That flight was cancelled, too, because of the strike and lockout at Air Canada, which started the day they were supposed to leave. 'I mean, I was sad and frustrated, just like every other girl that was going to go on this trip,' Hosein-Patel recalled. 'Yeah, I cried.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy She had spent the last two years raising funds to help pay for the $5,500 trip. Though the family believes that the airline will refund the fare — about 60 per cent of the cost — the family fears other fees for hotels, event tickets and other transportation might be lost. Patel holds Air Canada responsible. '(They're) generating all these profits every year, and ultimately the staff had to fight for their rights, unfortunately, holding a strike at this point,' he said. 'At the end of the day, customers are the ones that are suffering for this.' The airline estimates that 500,000 passengers were affected by the three-day job action that ended overnight Monday. Now, many of those clients are starting to file lawsuits against the airline as well as the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the cabin crew who were on strike. Hosein-Patel's family has joined a proposed class-action lawsuit against Air Canada, filed by two law firms: LPC Avocats and Renno Vathilakis. It is open to anyone worldwide to whom the airline did not provide a reservation for the next available flight or alternative travel arrangements as required by law. Story continues below advertisement 'Air Canada had a statutory obligation to book people on the next available flight when they couldn't respect the 48-hour rule,' Joey Zukran of LPC Avocats explained. He estimates damages could be in the $50-million range. Lambert Avocats is also seeking approval for a class-action lawsuit — this one against CUPE — claiming in a statement that the union's 'decision to continue its strike illegally has had the effect of prolonging and worsening the massive cancellations of Air Canada flights.' On Saturday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board asked the union to direct the flight attendants to return to work, less than 12 hours after the strike began. CUPE decided to defy the back-to-work order and the job action continued until Monday, when a tentative agreement was made with the airline. 'The class action is proposed for all persons who had a reservation for Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge for flights that were scheduled after Sunday at 2 p.m., that were subsequently cancelled because of CUPE's decision to maintain its strike,' lawyer Philippe Brault said. Neither of the proposed class-action suits has yet been approved. Global has reached out to both Air Canada and CUPE and has not yet heard back.
5 hours ago
- Business
How an act of defiance by Air Canada's flight attendants was a win for labour rights
The successful defiance of a hotly contested piece of Canada's Labour Code has boosted hope for worker rights in the country, labour advocates say. The union and its thousands of striking Air Canada flight attendants refused to go back to work after the federal government invoked the Section 107 (new window) of the Canada Labour Code. As a result, Air Canada returned to the bargaining table and overnight the two parties came to a tentative agreement that the 10,500 flight attendants in the union will soon be able to vote on. This is a big win for flight attendants that's going to force the federal government to re-evaluate how it intervenes in labour disputes going forward, said Larry Savage, a professor of labour studies at Brock University. The ministers' back-to-work order backfired spectacularly. CBC has learned the first year of the deal would give a 12 per cent salary bump to flight attendants in their first five years on the job and eight per cent for those with six or more years of experience. In the second year, employees would see another three per cent increase, followed by a 2.5 per cent increase the year after that. One of the biggest issues, which galvanized public sympathy, was the fact that flight attendants at Air Canada and other airlines are not paid for much of the time that they spend helping passengers while on the ground. Under the new deal, attendants would receive 50 per cent of their salary for 60 minutes of boarding and cabin secure checks for narrow body planes and 70 minutes for wide body planes. That amount would increase by five per cent every year of the agreement. Union says Air Canada expected government intervention The agreement took about seven hours but followed eight months of bargaining, says Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) national president Mark Hancock. Hancock said it had recently became clear that Air Canada was expecting the federal government to force flight attendants back to work without coming to a collective agreement, just as it had done with postal workers last fall. We definitely noticed a change in the employer, Hancock said in a phone interview Tuesday. We were thinking that, OK, they're probably going to bring 107. Enlarge image (new window) Mark Hancock, national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), arrives at Toronto Pearson International Airport for his flight, on Tuesday following the end of the Air Canada strike. Photo: Reuters / Carlos Osorio Just 12 hours into the strike that began Saturday, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107, which allows the minister to order binding arbitration and end work stoppages. The provision had seldom been used up until 2024, when the Liberals invoked it in the ports and railways strikes, then again during the Canada Post strike. WATCH | Section 107 explained: When it was invoked again on the weekend, labour rights activists began worrying that the government's reliance on this action — instead of passing back-to-work legislation through Parliament — would undermine both collective bargaining and the overall right of workers to strike in this country. It actually is corrosive to the very practice and the principle of free voluntary collective bargaining, said Chris Roberts, social and economic policy director at the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). But this time, something different happened. Hancock announced that striking flight attendants would remain on the picket line despite the back-to-work order by Canada's labour board, which was triggered by Hajdu's invoking of Section 107. If it means folks like me going to jail, so be it, Hancock said in remarks (new window) that made headlines across the country. Our members were ready for the long haul, he added Tuesday, Roberts said he was also aware that Air Canada was stalling during talks and had instead turned its attention to urging the government to trigger 107. The labour congress's president, Bea Bruske, said she believes employers will no longer be able to expect this kind of intervention. Employers should not ever think that government can bail them out, she said. Issue of unpaid work resonated As the threat of a strike or lockout approached, CUPE realized its members had the public's support, said Savage, the Brock University professor whose research has focused on the politics of organized labour in Canada. There was something about these flight attendants, the particular issue that they were fighting about related to unpaid work, [that] resonated so strongly with so many, said Savage. Enlarge image (new window) Demonstrators at Toronto Pearson International Airport hold placards after Air Canada flight attendants said they would remain on strike, defying a government decision to force them back to their duties. Photo: Reuters / Kyaw Soe Oo Between that and the speed with which Hajdu invoked Section 107, Air Canada was quick to return to the table, he said. There have been other recent governments' efforts to intervene in labour disputes or limiting workers' right to strike. In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford's 2022 introduction, then repeal, of Bill 28 (new window) followed an outcry by several different unions; elsewhere, Quebec's Bill 89 is being challenged by four McGill University faculty associations (new window) . In each case, Savage says there has been public pushback to attempts by Canadian governments to overstep labour rights. When governments stack the deck in favour of employers, unions are going to resist. Workers are going to use their leverage to insist on negotiated settlements, even if that means ignoring the law, he said. Verity Stevenson (new window) · CBC News Verity is a reporter for CBC in Montreal. She previously worked for the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. With files from Peter Zimonjic
CBC
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Flashback: When Air Canada flight attendants went on strike in 1985
Boarding call Air Canada's plan if flight attendants go on strike in 1985 6 days ago A CBC report learns that in the event of a labour dispute, the airline plans to continue operations with new trainees to do the work of flight attendants. On Tuesday, Air Canada and its 10,000 flight attendants reached a tentative agreement to end their contract dispute, both the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced. According to a CBC timeline of labour strife at the airline since 1998, the dispute lasted for three days. Forty years ago, when Air Canada faced another labour dispute with its 3,000 flight attendants, a CBC News report said the airline's plan was to hire replacement workers to keep flights operating. "If there is a lockout, Air Canada wants to make sure no flights are cancelled, but there aren't enough management people to take over," correspondent Paul Moore said. "So the airline's been recruiting outsiders and, starting tomorrow, they'll train to be flight attendants." (The employees did strike and were off the job for six weeks.) Fresh take Oasis plays Maple Leaf Gardens in 1998 2 days ago Next week, the British rock band Oasis is scheduled to play two Toronto concerts (in the venue Chris Martin of Coldplay called a " weird stadium in the middle of nowhere" in July) on a worldwide reunion tour — their first since splitting in 2009. In 1998, when Oasis performed at an arena in downtown Toronto, CBC reporter John Northcott saw more than one parallel with another British group. "Some argue they're the new Beatles based on their popularity. Others argue, in fact, they sound an awful lot like the Beatles," he said. "The concert, at Maple Leaf Gardens, sold out in hours. Hey, the Beatles played the Gardens as well." Fair trade Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition opened last week, and CBC News attended a preview of what's new this year. But on the midway, mainstays like the Polar Express, Scrambler and giant ferris wheel are back. A roller-coaster called the Flyer was among the rides at the CNE for almost four decades, according to a 1992 CBC News report. But its allure had waned, and crews were about to dismantle it. Still, there was hope for lovers of old-time carnival attractions: a fair across the road with vintage midway rides and games. "One of my hobbies is to try to preserve the carnival and carnival history," said its creator, Jim Conklin. "I'm just thrilled to pieces to be able to bring out some of this stuff that I've been collecting over the years." An obituary in the Brantford Expositor in 2023 said Conklin was " a legend in the carnival and midway world." Out of a pickle " Bick's pickles no longer stocked at some Canadian retailers," reads a recent CBC News headline. In 1961, Walter Bick spoke to CBC Radio's Assignment about how his father turned to an "old family recipe" to provide the solution to a surplus of cucumbers on the Bick farm in Scarborough, Ont. Whisky-ish Bartenders in Ontario are turning to bourbon alternatives since the LCBO pulled American spirits off store shelves, according to a recent CBC News story. We wonder, Would they try a cheaper substitute that doesn't require aging, like the one CBC News learned about in 1985? Bubble tea The CBC's Peter Armstrong reported last week that the stock market is riding high on the strength of AI, but some investors worry it's a repeat of the dot-com bubble in the 1990s. In a 1999 report by CBC News, an observer used the word "frenzy" to describe the vogue for internet stocks. Another Friday From New York, the actor talks to host Brent Bambury. Aired Aug. 1, 1994 on CBC's Midday.
Time Out
9 hours ago
- Business
- Time Out
Air Canada returns to Johannesburg skies after strike
Good news for Air Canada passengers, flights have officially resumed, and that means smoother travel between South Africa and Canada once again. With direct connections from Toronto and Calgary to Johannesburg, this is welcome news for both local travellers and international visitors heading our way. On Saturday, roughly 1000 attendants went on strike, citing low pay and requesting compensation for unpaid ground work, including during boarding. The airline announced on Tuesday that it has reached a tentative deal with the union representing flight attendants, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Although the details about the deal have not been disclosed, the airline said it would not comment on the terms of the agreed deal until it had been ratified. Following the talks, CUPE announced that the unpaid work is over and called the negotiations a historic fight for the industry. "Flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge have reached a tentative agreement, achieving transformational change for our industry after a historic fight to affirm our Charter rights. Unpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power," CUPE said in a statement posted on its site. Although flights resumed late Saturday, the airline has asked its customers to check their flight updates before heading to the airport. Customers can check the status of their flights here. It has also announced that full operation might take several days. " Our flights will restart this evening with a gradual ramp-up over the coming days. While the restart of our operations will begin immediately, we expect it will take several days before our operations return to normal. Please do not head to the airport unless you have confirmed the status of your flight," the airline wrote on the website.
