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Air Canada has started cancelling flights bracing for a near-total shutdown as a strike by thousands of flight attendants looms, threatening to disrupt travel plans for as many as 130,000 passengers a day. The union representing about 10,000 flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday, prompting the airline to issue a lockout notice in response, according to reports by news agencies AP and Reuters.
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The work stoppage is set to begin just before 1 am EDT (10:30 am IST) on Saturday, potentially grounding operations at the country’s largest carrier during peak summer travel.
Mark Nasr, Air Canada’s Chief Operations Officer, said the airline has started a gradual suspension of both Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations to allow for an “orderly restart,” as per AP, which under the best circumstances would take a week.
The first wave of cancellations on Thursday targeted long-haul overseas routes, impacting several dozen flights. By Friday, Nasr estimated cancellations would affect over 100,000 customers, with 500 flights scrapped by day’s end. A complete grounding, expected Saturday, could leave about 25,000 Canadians abroad without a way home.
Passengers on canceled flights will be eligible for full refunds, and Air Canada is arranging alternatives with other carriers “to the extent possible,” Nasr said, according to AP.
Pay disputes
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says, as per AP, the dispute centers on “poverty wages” and unpaid labour for duties performed when planes are not in the air, such as boarding and airport standby. At a news conference Thursday, some flight attendants held signs reading “Unpaid work won’t fly” and “Poverty wages = UnCanadian.”
Air Canada’s Chief Human Resources Officer Arielle Meloul-Wechsler said the latest offer includes a 38 per cent total compensation increase, including benefits and pensions over four years. She said the company has reached a deadlock but remains open to talks and consensual mediation.
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The union, however, rejected binding mediation, preferring to negotiate a contract its members can vote on.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has urged both sides to return to the bargaining table, reported AP, stressing that “deals are best made at the bargaining table.” She has asked the union to respond to the airline’s arbitration request but stopped short of announcing direct government intervention.
(With inputs from Reuters, AP)
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