Air Canada flight attendants will be ordered back to work – Canadian Jobs Minister
According to an announcement on Saturday by Canadian Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu, Air Canada flight attendants who went on strike early Saturday will be ordered to return to work by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). The announcement comes after Air Canada, the country’s largest airline, suspended all operations in response to an industrial strike action.
Over 10,000 Air Canada’s flight attendants went on strike, grounding hundreds of flights and disrupting commercial flight activities for over 130,000 passengers after pay negotiations fell through.
Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa, Hadju said that the CIRB has been directed to order Air Canada and its employees to “resume and continue their operations and duties in order to secure industrial peace and protect the interests of Canada, Canadians and the economy.”
The government intervened through Section 107 of the Canada Labor Code, which allows the Minister to direct an arbitrator to intervene in the dispute.
According to CNN, Air Canada said in an email that it is “premature to comment as the CIRB process is underway. We still ask customers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking and their flight is shown as operating,” the company said.
Hadju asserted that the CIRB will also be involved in reaching a settlement and will extend the terms of the existing collective agreement.
The airline’s flight attendants who overwhelmingly agreed to the system-wide work stoppage, with 99.7% in favor of the strike, walked out around 1 a.m. ET on Saturday. The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is seeking wage increases and paid compensation for work when planes are on the ground.
Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada component of CUPE faulted the company’s profiteering approach at the expense of its workers. “Now, when we’re at the bargaining table with an obstinate employer; 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,”.
Hajdu denied that the Canadian Government is anti-union, adding that it was clear Air Canada and union workers were at an impasse and needed some help in arbitrating the final items.
“The impact of the work stoppage at Air Canada that began early this morning is already being felt by travelers. This is causing significant harm and has negative impacts on Canadians and the Canadian economy,” Hajdu said, adding that the flight cancellations left pharmaceuticals without transport and thousands of Canadians stranded.
When asked when flights would return to normal, the Jobs Minister said the CIRB would review statements from both Air Canada and workers before deciding whether to intervene.
“Don’t want to speculate, because it is a process. But in general, sometimes it can take 24 to 48 hours for the board to complete that work,” Hajdu said, even though Air Canada has said it could take between 5 to 10 days to resume regular service.
Source: CNN
