The union representing Air Canada’s flight attendants announced Sunday that its members will not be returning to the cabin, despite a government-issued back-to-work order. Meanwhile, Air Canada says it will resume some of its flights on Monday, though the union thinks that’s unlikely.
When will Air Canada’s operations resume?
On Sunday, the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced that its members would not be complying with a back-to-work order handed down by Canadian Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu a day prior.
According to Section 107 of the Canada Labor Code, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board can compel employees to return to work “in order to secure industrial peace and protect the interests of Canada, Canadians and the economy.”
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However, the bargaining committee wrote in an update to its members on 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 strike, which involves some 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, has grounded roughly 940 flights, including about 240 on Sunday, and could affect upwards of 100,000 travelers daily, according to a press release from Air Canada. The company also said that it expects to resume operations on Monday evening.
Despite Air Canada’s projections that flights will resume Monday, CUPE’s senior communications officer, Hugh Pouliot, told Straight Arrow News that the employees won’t be returning to work until a new agreement is hammered out.
“Our members will return to work when we have a fair, negotiated collective agreement that our members can ratify,” Pouliot said.
Air Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it intends to resume flights, if its flight attendants are continuing to strike.
Why is the government involved?
As of Friday, Hajdu, Canada’s jobs minister, was calling on both sides to resume negotiations. In a post on X, she wrote, “I urge both parties to put their differences aside, come back to the bargaining table and get this done now for the many travelers who are counting on you.”
However, by Saturday, when it became clear that negotiations had completely broken down, Hajdu ordered both parties to enter into binding arbitration. She also invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labor Code, which was meant to compel Air Canada’s flight attendants back to work.
“Despite significant supports from the government, these parties have been unable to resolve their differences in a timely manner,” Hajdu said in a statement justifying her decision to invoke Section 107. “The government must act to preserve stability and supply chains in this unique and uncertain economic context.”
Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component of CUPE, responded, accusing the Liberal Party of “[talking] out of both sides of their mouths,” and “[refusing] to correct this historic injustice through legislation.”
“The Liberals are 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,” the union wrote.
How did Air Canada, CUPE and the government get here?
Last week, a staggering 99.7% of CUPE’s Air Canada members voted to go on strike. Air Canada and the union had been negotiating several contract terms for nearly a year, including wages and scheduling issues.
One of the main sticking points has been “ground pay.” Essentially, flight attendants are only compensated for the time a plane is in the air, not for taxiing, assisting passengers board or deplane, conducting pre- and post-flight safety checks, and various other responsibilities that occur when the plane is on the tarmac.
“CUPE came to the table with data-driven and reasonable proposals for a fair cost-of-living wage increase and an end to forced unpaid labour,” the union said in a statement Saturday, before accusing Air Canada of “sandbagging the negotiations.”
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, Air Canada said the union rejected an offer that included a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, plus benefits. The deal also partially addressed ground pay and, according to Air Canada, would have made their employees the best-compensated flight attendants in the country.
CUPE said that the deal does not go far enough, and that a 38% increase will not keep pace with inflation.
Lesosky said in a statement earlier this week, “With respect to Air Canada’s latest offer: it is below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage – and still leaves flight attendants unpaid for all hours of work.”
As for ground pay, Lesosky said that Air Canada’s offer only covers 50% of an employee’s hourly rate, adding, “the company is still refusing to compensate flight attendants for time spent responding to medical emergencies, fires, evacuations, and other safety and security-related issues on the ground.”
