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The Canadian Union of Public Employees, the union representing Air Canada’s flight attendants, has urged federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu not to intervene in negotiations between them and the airline.
This comes even as the two sides have failed to come to a last-minute agreement to avoid a total shutdown of Canada’s flag carrier.
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Air Canada flight attendants strike
More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants are set to walk off the job around 1 am EST (10:30 am IST) on Saturday, followed by a company-imposed lockout, due to disagreements with the airline over issues including wages and working hours.
On Wednesday, the union gave Air Canada notice of its intent to strike, and the airline responded by issuing a notice that it will lock out those employees shortly after that deadline.
Air Canada sought minister’s intervention
Air Canada had previously asked CUPE to consider binding interest arbitration, which would bring an arbitrator into the negotiations, but this proposal was rejected by the union.
Following this, Air Canada on Thursday asked Minister Hajdu to make a referral under Section 107 that the negotiation be sent to arbitration.
In a statement on Friday, CUPE urged Hajdu “not to intervene” in negotiations and “thereby permitting collective bargaining to continue and allowing the parties to negotiate a resolution.”
“Rather than continuing to negotiate in good faith, Air Canada appears to have anticipated government intervention and has opted to suspend meaningful discussions, contrary to its legal obligation to bargain in good faith,” the union said in the statement.
What Air Canada offered
Air Canada had offered a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years, along with provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements.
Air Canada faces total shutdown
As the impasse continues, Air Canada has been cancelling flights en masse, stranding thousands of passengers around the world. According to Air Canada, it is cancelling around 500 flights previously scheduled to take off on Friday in anticipation of the strike.
The airline said on X that as of noon on Friday, 294 flights had been cancelled and more than 55,000 passengers had been impacted. Air Canada operates globally to approximately 65 countries on six continents and has a fleet of 259 aircraft.
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While Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights will be grounded due to the strike, the airline said that Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL Airlines will continue to operate as normal.
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