Air Canada Suspends Restart Plans – Union Dispute

Air Canada Flight Attendants Ordered Back to Work After Brief Strike

TORONTO – Air Canada flight attendants were ordered back to work Sunday by the federal government, ending a 24-hour strike that disrupted travel plans for tens of thousands of passengers. Labour Minister Patty Hajdu issued a notice to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to end the strike, citing economic concerns and recent U.S. tariffs.

Strike and Government Intervention

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing 15,000 flight attendants, began their strike early Saturday morning.Less then 12 hours later, Hajdu intervened, arguing that the economic risks were too high, especially given new tariffs imposed by the United States. The CIRB has extended the existing collective agreement until a new one is negotiated through arbitration.

The strike impacted approximately 130,000 passengers daily, as Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The airline began locking out flight attendants from airports around the same time the strike commenced.

Contract Dispute

The core of the dispute revolved around wages and unpaid work. CUPE had rejected Air canada’s request for government-directed arbitration on Friday. The union argued that Air Canada had deliberately stalled negotiations,anticipating government intervention.

“Air Canada has really refused to bargain with us and they refused to bargain with us as they knew this government would come in on their white horse and try and save the day,” a union representative stated.

Air Canada stated it would resume flights Sunday, but warned it would take seven to ten days to fully restore its schedule due to cancellations.

Airline and Union positions

Air Canada had offered a 38% increase in total compensation over four years,claiming it would make their flight attendants the highest paid in Canada. Though, CUPE countered that the initial 8% raise was insufficient due to inflation.

Passengers affected by the disruptions are eligible for full refunds through the airline’s website or app.Air Canada will attempt to rebook passengers on other airlines when possible, but warned of limited availability due to peak summer travel demand.

Past Government Interventions

This isn’t the first time the Canadian government has intervened in labour disputes. Last year, it forced arbitration on Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways, a move that is currently being legally challenged by the rail workers’ union.

Business groups, including the business Council of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, had urged the government to impose binding arbitration in the Air Canada dispute. Hajdu defended the government’s action, stating it was not anti-union but that an impasse had been reached.