Toronto (AP) – Air Canada It said it had suspended plans to resume operations on Sunday after a union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it was against returning to the work order. The strike had already affected around 130,000 travelers worldwide per day during the peak summer travel season.
Canada Labor and Management Relations Committee Airline staff was back to work by 2pm on Sunday After the government stepped in and said Air Canada was planning to resume flights on Sunday evening.
Canada’s largest airline said it will resume flights Monday evening. Air Canada said in a statement that the union “illegally instructed flight attendants to ignore instructions from the Canadian Labor and Management Relations Commission.”
“Our members are not returning to work,” Mark Hancock, National President of the Canadian Civil Service Union, said outside Pearson International Airport in Toronto. “We say no.”
Associated Press correspondent Julie Walker reports that Air Canada has stopped its reboot plan after the flight attendant union refused to return to the work order.
Hancock tore a copy of an order back to work outside the airport departure terminal where Union members were picketing Sunday morning. He said they wouldn’t return on Tuesday either.
The flight attendant chanted “Don’t blame me, I won’t blame AC” outside Pearson.
“Like many Canadians, the Minister is closely monitoring the situation. The Canadian Labor and Management Committee is an independent court,” Jennifer Kozelji, spokesman for Federal Employment Minister Patty Hajidou, said in an emailed statement.
Hancock said “the whole process was unfair,” and that the union would challenge what is called an unconstitutional order.
It’s less than 12 hours after the workers are off work, hajdu 10,000 flight attendants Back to work, now is not the time to take risks to the economy; Unprecedented tariffs The US imposed on Canada. Hajdu introduced the suspension of work to the Canadian Labor and Management Committee.
The airline said the CIRB has extended the period of existing collective agreements until the new agreement is decided by the arbitrator.
The closure of Canada’s biggest airline had an impact early on Saturday Approximately 130,000 people per day. Air Canada operates approximately 700 flights per day.
Mel Durstone, a tourist in the southern part of England, was trying to make the most of his tourism in Canada. However, she said there was no way to continue her journey.
“We wanted to go see the Rockies, but maybe we won’t get there because of this,” Durston said. “We may have to go straight back.”
James Hart and Zahara Villani were visiting Toronto from Calgary, Alberta, because they thought they were a fun weekend. However, they ended up paying $2,600 Canadians ($1,880) to fly with another airline late after Air Canada’s flight was cancelled.
“It’s a bit frustrating and stressful, but at the same time, I don’t blame the flight attendants at all,” Varani said. “What they’re looking for is not at all irrational.”
The flight attendants finished work on a Saturday around 1am. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants from the airport.
The fierce contract battle escalated on Friday. The union declined prior requests to enter into arbitration led by the Air Canada government, allowing third-party mediators to determine the terms of the new contract.
Last year, the government Forced two major railways in the country to arbitration With a labor union that has been suspended. The railway workers’ union is suing, claiming that the government is removing union leverage in negotiations.
Hajidu claimed that her liberal government is not anti-union and that it is clear that both parties are at a dead end.
According to Air Canada, passengers affected by the flight are eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s website or on the mobile app.
The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines where possible. Still, they warned that flights with other airlines are already full “due to the peak of summer travel,” and therefore cannot guarantee immediate rebooking.
Air Canada and Cupe have been giving contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides say they are far away about pay issues, and unpaid workers that flight attendants do when the plane is not in the air.
The airline’s latest offer includes a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions over four years, and said it would have “been the best compensation in Canada.”
However, the union pushed back saying that the 8% salary increases proposed in the first year were not progressing well due to inflation.
