The federal government is intervening to resolve a labour dispute between Air Canada and the union representing the carrier’s 10,000 flight attendants on the first day of their strike.
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu announced she ordered binding arbitration and for operations to resume.
But it wasn’t immediately clear when that would happen.
Air Canada said it was uncertain when its operations would resume and air travellers across the country continued dealing with hundreds of grounded planes on Saturday.
“After eight months of negotiations by the parties, and after meeting with both parties last night and urging them to work hard to reach a deal, it is disappointing to have to conclude today that Air Canada and CUPE flight attendants are at an impasse and remain unable to resolve their dispute,” Hajdu said in a statement.
“The government firmly believes that the best deals are reached by the parties at the bargaining table. It has now become clear that this dispute won’t be resolved at the table. Canadians are increasingly finding themselves in very difficult situations and the strike is rapidly impacting the Canadian economy,” the minister added.
“Canadians rely on air travel to connect families, workers, and communities to each other and the world. Despite significant supports from the government, these parties have been unable to resolve their differences in a timely manner.
“That is why I exercised my authorities under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to arbitrate this dispute,” she added. “I am exercising this authority because it is critical to maintaining and securing industrial peace, protecting Canadians and promoting conditions to resolve the dispute. Despite the parties’ resolution of several key differences, the CIRB is best positioned to help them find a solution on the outstanding items.”
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Hajdu said the nationwide labour disruption is impeding the movement of passengers and critical cargo during a year “in which Canadian families and businesses have already experienced too much disruption and uncertainty.”
“This is not the time to add additional challenges and disruptions to their lives and our economy,” she said. “The government must act to preserve stability and supply chains in this unique and uncertain economic context.”
Air Canada cancelled more than 600 flights over the past two days in preparation for a potential work stoppage, and Hajdu says it could be several days before service resumes and returns to normal.
In a statement to Global National, Air Canada said it was “premature” to comment on the binding arbitration and appeared to confirm that flights would not resume quickly.
“At this point it is premature to comment as the CIRB process is underway. Therefore, it is also premature to comment about restarting the airline and so we still ask customers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking and their flight is shown as operating (this information can be found on aircanada.com,our mobile app or the local airport website,” Air Canada stated.
Air Canada flight attendants are represented by CUPE, the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, issued a statement to denounce the Liberal government’s move and offer its support to CUPE members.
Unifor strongly condemns the federal government’s imposition of binding arbitration between Air Canada and CUPE Flight Attendants, cutting short a legal strike action just hours after it began.
“This move by the federal government sends a clear message to federally regulated employers: don’t bother bargaining fairly with workers because the government will step in to strip away your right to strike,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
“Our message is equally clear – Unifor will always defend workers’ right to strike and any government or company that tries to rip that away is in for one hell of a fight,” Payne added.
Passengers around the world are feeling the effects after the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants with Air Canada announced its members were walking off the job after it was unable to reach an eleventh-hour deal with the airline.
The strike officially began just before 1 a.m. ET on Saturday and in turn, Air Canada locked out its agents about 30 minutes later due to the strike action.
The jobs minister said that 40% of the shipments of critical goods such as pharmaceuticals and organ tissue inside the country are moved by Air Canada and they must continue to reach their destinations.
She also said flight attendants play a critical role in keeping Canadian families and workers safe as they travel. “It is important that they be compensated fairly at all times,” she said.
– with files from Andrew McIntosh, Global News
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