Air Canada delays plans to resume operations after flight attendants refuse to end strike
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Air Canada suspends restart plans after union defies return-to-work order
Canada’s largest airline now says it will resume flights Monday evening. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) national president Mark Hancock said earlier on Sunday outside Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. Air Canada said in a statement that the union “illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board’ The federal government did not immediately provide comment on the union refusing to return to work. The bitter contract fight escalated on Friday as the union turned down Air Canada’S prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Flight attendants walked off the job around 1am Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday. About 130,000 people a day were affected by the shutdown of Air Canada, which operates around 700 flights per day. The airline said some flights would be cancelled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule was stabilised. It said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2pm on Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening.
Canada’s largest airline now says it will resume flights Monday evening.
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Air Canada said in a statement that the union “illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board”.
People wait outside an Air Canada check-in at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
“Our members are not going back to work,” Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) national president Mark Hancock said earlier on Sunday outside Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
“We are saying no.”
The federal government did not immediately provide comment on the union refusing to return to work.
Mr Hancock said the “whole process has been unfair” and said the union would challenge what it called an unconstitutional order.
“Air Canada has really refused to bargain with us and they refused to bargain with us because they knew this government would come in on their white horse and try and save the day,” he said.
A man tries to check in to his Air Canada flight at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
The federal government did not immediately provide comment on the union refusing to return to work.
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The country’s largest airline had said early on Sunday in a release that the first flights would resume later in the day but that it would take several days before its operations returned to normal.
It said some flights would be cancelled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule was stabilised.
Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now was not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the US had imposed on Canada.
Ms Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
People sleep under a flight information board at Vancouver International Airport (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
The airline said the Canada Industrial Relations Board had extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one was determined by the arbitrator.
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The shutdown of Canada’s largest airline early on Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day.
Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day.
According to numbers from aviation analytics provider Cirium, Air Canada cancelled a total of 494 flights on Sunday morning. This was in addition to the hundreds of flights it cancelled in the previous days.
The bitter contract fight escalated on Friday as the union turned down Air Canada’s prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.
Flight attendants walked off the job around 1am Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday.
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Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports.
Ms Hajdu said that her Liberal government was not anti-union, saying it was clear the two sides were at an impasse.
Passengers whose flights were impacted would be eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.
The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible.
Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines were already full “due to the summer travel peak”.
An Air Canada agent, left, speaks to a man at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes are not in the air.
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The airline’s latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, that it said “would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada”.
But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year did not go far enough because of inflation.
Air Canada delays flight resumption after back-to-work order defied
Air Canada says it will resume flights on Monday. The union says it is still in talks with the government. The strike began at 12:58 a.m. ET Saturday. The government says the strike is illegal and that it will arbitrate. The dispute has been going on for more than a year, the union says, but the government won’t budge until the union agrees to an end to the walkout, it says. The Canadian Airline Association says it has been in negotiations with the federal government for two weeks, but no progress has been made. The U.S. Air Force says it’s working with the Canadian Air Force Association to find a solution to the dispute. The United States Air Force has said it will not intervene in the dispute if the union doesn’t agree to a cease-and-desist order, which it says is the “right thing to do” The union wants the government to step in and stop the strike, which has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Canada.
Aug. 17 (UPI) — Air Canada on Sunday delayed plans to resume limited operations after flight attendants defied a government-mandated back-to-work order and binding arbitration.
Limited service instead will resume on Monday night, the airline said in a news release Sunday.
Flight attendants with Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge originally were ordered to return to shifts by 2 p.m. Sunday, CBC reported.
The 10,000 flight attendants remain on strike, which began after midnight Saturday.
“We invite Air Canada back to the table to negotiate a fair deal, rather than relying on the federal government to do their dirty work for them when bargaining gets a little bit tough,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement.
“We have received overwhelming support from the public and Union workers everywhere,” the union posted on Facebook. “This is an historic moment for labor and for workers across the country.”
CUPE National President Mark Hancock ripped up the order Sunday in front of a cheering crowd outside Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
“We will continue to fight on the picket lines, on the streets, at the bargaining table, in the courts, and in Parliament, until the injustice of unpaid work is done for good,” he said Saturday in a union news release. “Workers will win — despite the best effort of the Liberal government and their corporate friends.”
On Saturday, 12 hours after the strike, Jobs Minister Patty Haju invoked Section 107 of the Canadian Labor Code, which directs the Canadian Relations Board to arbitrate the dispute and extended the terms of the existing agreement until a new one is determined by an arbiter. The contract expired on March 31.
“We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order that violates the Charter rights of 10,000 flight attendants, 70 percent of whom are women, and 100 percent of whom are forced to do hours of unpaid work by their employer every time they come to work,” the union said in a statement.
Air Canada said the union “illegally directed its flight attendants to defy a direction” from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to return to work.
The carrier said it planned to resume approximately 240 of its normal 700 flights a day, though it would take seven to 10 days for the schedule to “stabilize.”
More than 130,000 travelers worldwide fly on the airline daily.
Canada’s largest airline includes 170 international ones, and from 50 Canadian airports. Between more than 50 U.S. airports and Canada, the company averages about 430 daily flights.
Air Canada Express, with 300 regional flights, is operated by Jazz Aviation and PAl Airlines, is not affected.
Customers will be notified about canceled flights and are strongly advised not to go the airport unless they have confirmed flights on other airlines.
Those on canceled flights can obtain a full refund or receive a credit for future travel.
Also, the carrier will offer to rebook customers on other carriers, although capacity is limited because of the peak summer travel season.
Flight attendants went on strike at 12:58 a.m. EDT Saturday and the company locked them out at 1:30 a.m.
The flight attendants and their supporters were on picket lines throughout Canada.
The last negotiations were on Friday night, and no new talks were scheduled.
“Air Canada and CUPE flight attendants are at an impasse and remain unable to resolve their dispute,” she said in a statement released Saturday afternoon Eastern time. “Canadians are increasingly finding themselves in very difficult situations and the strike is rapidly impacting the Canadian economy.”
“This decision will help make sure that hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are not impacted because of cancelled flights. Further, the shipments of critical goods such as pharmaceuticals and organ tissue, over 40% of which are moved by Air Canada, should continue to reach their destinations,” she said.
On Wednesday, the airline served the union a statutory 72-hour lockout notice in response to the union’s 72-hour strike notice.
Air Canada was canceling flights ahead of the work stoppage.
“I don’t think anyone’s in the mood to go back to work,” Lillian Speedie, vice president of CUPE Local 4092, told CBC at a picket line outside Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga on Sunday. “To legislate us back to work 12 hours after we started? I’m sorry, snowstorms have shut down Air Canada for longer than we were allowed to strike.”
The Air Canada union asked the jobs minister to direct the parties to enter into binding arbitration.
But on Saturday afternoon, the union blasted the order to end the strike and posted images and video strikers. More visuals were posted Sunday.
“This sets a terrible precedent. Contrary to the Minister’s remarks, this will not ensure labor peace at Air Canada,” the union said Saturday.
Air Canada has become dependent on the federal government to solve its labor-relations issues, Steven Tufts, associate professor and labour geographer at York University, told CBC.
“Air Canada has to learn not to call mommy and daddy every time they reach an impasse at the bargaining table,” Tufts said. “They have to actually sit down and get a deal done with their workers.”
In 2024, Air Canada asked for the government to be ready to step in but the two sides reached a tentative agreement.
Flight attendants want to be compensated for work before the flights take off and after they land. Typically with most airlines, they get paid only for the hours they are in the air.
Air Canada flight attendants union defies government’s order to return to work
The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday. Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travelers per day.
TORONTO — Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return-to-work order. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travelers around the world per day during the peak summer travel season.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening.
4 Things to know about the Air Canada labour dispute
10,000 Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday morning. The federal government used a contentious section of labour law to intervene and stop the strike. The union representing flight attendants said Sunday it would defy the back-to-work order. It is unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order, labour law expert Adam King says.Defying a legal back- to- work order could result in fines for the union or workers being fired. It could also lead to criminal prosecution in some cases, King says, such as in the case of the Postal Workers’ Union of Canada in the 1970s, which went on strike for two months after an order was issued. The government has invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code a number of times in recent years, but it is not clear if this will be the case this time. It gives the minister the power to order the end of a work stoppage to “maintain or secure industrial peace,” Hajdu says. “Now is not the time to take risks with our economy,” says Hajdu.
The union representing Air Canada flight attendants said Sunday it would defy the back-to-work order and remain on strike.
Here’s everything you need to know:
1. Government intervention
The federal government used a contentious section of labour law to intervene and stop the strike, which began at 12:58 a.m. ET Saturday.
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Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which gives the minister the power to order the end of a work stoppage to “maintain or secure industrial peace.”
Hajdu used her powers to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order both the airline and the striking workers back to work. Air Canada said Sunday it had been directed by CIRB to resume operations and have flight attendants return to their duties by 2 p.m. ET.
Hajdu says she chose to intervene in the labour dispute because “the potential for immediate negative impact on Canadians and our economy is simply too great.”
“Now is not the time to take risks with our economy,” said Hajdu at a news conference in Ottawa Saturday. “A work stoppage would cause thousands of Canadians to be stranded abroad and across this country and this is simply unacceptable.”
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WATCH | How Hajdu intervened in the Air Canada labour dispute:
Until recently, Section 107 was a relatively unknown piece of legislation. But last year, the Liberal government invoked it in several major disputes — sending unionized employees back to work at ports, rail yards and Canada Post.
Unions are taking the federal government to court for its repeated use of Section 107, arguing it violates Canadians’ constitutional right to strike and sours the bargaining process.
2. Union defies back-to-work order
The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said Sunday morning it will defy the back-to-work order handed down by CIRB.
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Picket lines remain outside of airports in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.
In a statement Sunday, the union pointed to “a staggering conflict of interest” involving the chair of CIRB, Maryse Tremblay, who served as legal counsel for Air Canada for nearly seven years from 1998 to 2004, according to her LinkedIn profile.
WATCH | Air Canada flight attendants defy back-to-work order:
Air Canada had been advocating in recent days for government intervention to resolve the bargaining impasse.
“We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order that violates the Charter rights of 10,000 flight attendants, 70 per cent of whom are women, and 100 per cent of whom are forced to do hours of unpaid work by their employer every time they come to work,” the union said.
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Air Canada and CUPE have been negotiating a new contract for flight attendants after the previous 10-year contract expired in March. CUPE says that wages, work rules and unpaid hours are the big issues in contention.
According to CUPE, many duties performed by flight attendants prior to boarding and after deplaning, including performing required safety checks and assisting passengers, go unpaid under the current pay structure.
3. Potential union penalties
The federal government has invoked Section 107 a number of times in recent years. But it is unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order.
“The penalties could be significant” for the union, labour law expert Adam King told CBC News in an interview.
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Defying a legal back-to-work order could result in fines for the union or workers being fired. It could also lead to criminal prosecution in some cases.
WATCH | Picket lines remain at major Canadian airports:
In 1978, members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers were ordered back to work during a national strike. Union president Jean-Claude Parrot defied that order, with workers staying on the picket lines for a week after it was issued. Parrot was jailed for two months for refusing to comply.
But King says it’s also possible that CUPE’s refusal to comply could work in the union’s favour.
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He pointed to the example of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government ordering CUPE’s education workers back to work when they went on strike in 2022.
“The entire labour movement in the province responded with the threat of a general strike. And the government was forced to back down and take their legislation away,” said King.
“If something similar happens here, we could very well see no penalties. If labour mobilizes in support of the flight attendants, they could very well be victorious in this.”
CBC News has reached out to Hajdu for comment on how the government will respond and will update this story with any response.
4. What does this mean for flights?
Air Canada said in a statement Sunday that it will suspend plans to resume operations after CUPE indicated its intentions to remain on strike. The airline says 240 flights that were scheduled to operate beginning this afternoon have now been cancelled.
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The airline said it will resume flights as of Monday evening.
With flight attendants refusing to return to work, it is unclear how Air Canada plans to operate these flights. CBC News has reached out to the airline for clarification.
Flights by Air Canada Express, which are operated by third-party airlines Jazz and PAL, are not affected.
About 130,000 customers will be affected each day the strike continues, the airline said last week.
WATCH | The impact of the flight attendants’ strike on travellers:
The airline says customers whose flights have been cancelled will be notified and are “strongly advised” not to go to the airport unless they have confirmed flights on other airlines.
Air Canada will offer those with cancelled flights other options, including a refund or credit for future travel. For customers due to travel soon, the airline said it will also offer to rebook customers on other carriers, “although capacity is currently limited due to the peak summer travel season.”
Air Canada travellers still scrambling to rebook as more flights cancelled
Air Canada and the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants are in a labour dispute. Air Canada says it will resume flights on Monday evening, but all other flights are cancelled until further notice. Airline says customers are not eligible for compensation for expenses incurred during the dispute. The dispute is expected to last until the end of the month. The union says it is not seeking an extension of the strike, which is set to last through to the middle of next year. For more information on the dispute, go to: http://www.air Canada.com/news/features/airline-workers-strike-continues-in-Canada-and-outside-of-the-world.
James Hart and Zahara Virani were visiting Toronto from Calgary for what they thought would be a fun weekend.
But they ended up paying $2,600 to fly with another airline on a later day after their Air Canada flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport got cancelled due to the strike and lockout that began Saturday.
Hart said the couple heard late Saturday that their Sunday flight home had been cancelled, forcing them to also miss work.
“We kind of had an idea it wouldn’t be going out, and now you can’t get a hold of anybody to get any answers,” he said.
The couple found seats on a competitor flight for Monday, but said it’s costing them three to four times more than what they initially paid for their original tickets.
“It’s a little frustrating and stressful, but at the same time, I don’t blame the flight attendants at all,” Virani said. “What they’re asking for is not unreasonable whatsoever.”
The union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants said on Sunday that the workers plan to remain on strike, even after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered both parties back to work by 2 p.m. ET the same day.
As a result, Air Canada announced it was suspending a plan to restart operations and cancelled some 240 flights that had been scheduled to take off Sunday.
Grounded planes also impacted tourists from all over the world.
Travellers such as Mel Durston, from southern England, was trying to make the most of sightseeing in Canada. But she said she doesn’t have a way to continue her journey.
“We wanted to go see the Rockies, but we might not get there because of this,” Durston said. “We might have to head straight back (to the U.K.).”
Robert Cwynar and his wife were originally supposed to leave Saturday night to get to Saskatoon on their way home to Poland, when they also found out their flight was cancelled with no alternate routes home.
“There’s no help. We have to get our hotels on our own, our transportation, our meals… They don’t say anything,” he said.
Air Canada has said passengers whose flights are cancelled will be offered a full refund or the opportunity to change their travel plans without a fee.
However, it said that under Canada’s airline passenger protection regulations, customers are not eligible for compensation for expenses incurred during travel delays deemed outside the airline’s control.
“Customers in Canada are not eligible for compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, meals, hotels or other incidental expenses for situations outside the carrier’s control, such as a labour disruption,” the airline said
Air Canada said in a news release that its flights would resume Monday evening, although a notice on its booking page said all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights were cancelled until further notice.