Air Canada, the country’s largest airline, is planning to resume services after reaching an agreement with its members with flight attendants.
Trades reached early Tuesday morning are over First strike by airline cabin crew In almost 40 years.
The Canadian Civil Service Coalition (CUPE) has issued a statement explaining that mediation between the airline and its low-cost affiliate Air Canada Luge has reached a successful conclusion.
“The unpaid work is over. We have regained our voice and strength,” the union wrote. “When our rights were taken away, we stood strong and we fought back. We secured a tentative agreement that our members could vote.”
The strike began on Saturday and lasted nearly four days, causing a disruption to travel by around 130,000 travelers taking Air Canada daily.
The strike forced the company to withdraw its third-quarter and full-year revenue guidance. Early trading on Tuesday morning saw Air Canada shares rise 4% after news of the strike ending. But they have lost about 14% of their value so far this year.
The carrier said flights will take place again by Tuesday evening and will gradually resume operations.
However, Air Canada warned that it may take more than a week to fully recover its services. Some flights will remain cancelled for the next 7-10 days while flight schedules remain stable.
Customers on cancelled flights can choose to receive a refund, travel credit or rebook on another airline.
What was the controversy?
Cupe represents nearly 10,400 flight attendants employed by Air Canada, and the union had been negotiating with the airline for months to address issues such as “unpaid jobs, job rules, and poverty-level wages.”
The union pointed out that wages do not correspond to the costs of inflation and that cabin crews are not being provided with “ground wages.” Compensation for all work done before and after the flight door approaches.
This includes paying for passengers to board, assisting travelers with luggage and seats, and implementing safety checks.
Cupe pointed out Last week, 99.7% of its members voted in favor of the strike.
Announced the end of the strike, Cupe explained that negotiations have been extended from 7pm on Monday (23:00 GMT) to 4:23am the next day (08:23 GMT).
“We need to advise memberships that we must fully cooperate in reopening operations,” the union wrote in a Facebook announcement.
A tense showdown
It was not clear whether the impasse would be resolved anytime soon until the deal was announced. On Monday, Capu National President Mark Hancock said there are “no restrictions” on his commitment to the fight.
“We’re going to keep getting stronger. We’re going to make sure those workers can do the job they like and actually buy a roof over their heads,” Hancock said. “And if that means people like me go to prison, that’s the case too.”
In a rare act of rebellion, the union continued to strike even after the Federal Labor Commission, the Canadian Labor Relations Commission, declared the case illegal.
On Monday, the board called for flight attendants to return to work and the union to submit to arbitration.
However, flight attendants have refusing to do so, resulting in three-way standoffs between workers, companies and the government.
The union had asked the government not to intervene in case the airlines gave them a bargaining advantage.
In an apparent effort to address that debate, Employment Minister Patty Hajidu also pledged on Monday to put pressure on Air Canada by investigating allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector.
“I have also heard of claims for unpaid work. That’s not acceptable. No one should work for free in this country. In fact, we expect to be paid for the work we play,” Hajidu said in a social media video.
“That’s why we ordered an investigation into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector. We’ll start this investigation soon.”
In recent years, unions in the aerospace, construction, airlines and railway sectors have updated their efforts to drive employers away for higher wages, conditions of improvement and better profits amid the tough labor market.
Travelers express their frustration
Air Canada is working to resume full service, but travelers have expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing flight cancellations.
As of Monday, analytics firm Cirium estimated that nearby domestic flights and 1,339 international flights in Canada had been suspended since Thursday as a result of the strike.
Retirement Klaus Hickman was among those who missed a flight to Toronto early in the week. He rebooked with another airline, but he was worried about returning to Calgary on time for a connecting flight to Germany.
Hickman sympathizes with workers who demand better wages, but worries about his own health and travel challenges.
“They want to get more money to survive, and that’s with everyone else,” he said.
Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada’s largest aviation hub, said it will call extra employees to help Air Canada resume services this week.
