Air Canada flight attendants' strike paralyzes thousands of flights in Canada
Kyiv • UNN
Over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants declared a strike after failed negotiations. The airline halted flights, affecting 130,000 customers daily.
More than 10,000 flight attendants of the airline Air Canada announced a strike on Saturday, after the airline and the union representing them failed to reach an agreement by the deadline. This is reported by UNN with reference to CBC.
Details
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced a 72-hour strike on Wednesday after midnight. Air Canada soon responded by locking out employees, and on Thursday began winding down operations, gradually suspending flights.
Air Canada estimates that, given the ongoing work stoppage, the strike will affect 130,000 customers daily, including 25,000 Canadian travelers who are abroad.
The strike began after negotiations between CUPE and Air Canada reached an impasse, with wages and ground pay, which compensates flight attendants for work while the aircraft is on the ground, becoming some of the key stumbling blocks preventing the parties from reaching an agreement.
Earlier this week, Air Canada officially proposed to CUPE that the parties use binding arbitration to negotiate the renewal of the 10-year collective agreement, which expired in March.
CUPE refused to use arbitration, a process in which an arbitrator makes decisions on specific issues that the parties cannot agree on. CUPE insists that it wants to remain at the negotiating table and for both sides to reach an agreement themselves.
Air Canada appealed to federal Employment Minister Patty Hajdu to apply to the court under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to refer negotiations to binding interest arbitration. Hajdu gave CUPE until noon Friday to respond, but they refused.
Addition
Ryanair on Thursday stated that it was forced to cancel 170 flights, affecting more than 30,000 passengers, due to a nationwide air traffic controllers' strike in France.