MONTREAL – Talks between Air Canada and its flight attendants are continuing ahead of a strike deadline later this week.
The two sides have been in non-stop negotiations since Sunday morning in an effort to reach a deal.
Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is scheduled to meet with the union and the airline at 4 p.m. today in Ottawa, where she is expected to press the two sides to reach a deal.
The roughly 6,800 flight attendants have threatened to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning if their demands aren’t met.
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However, a strike may be short-lived – a walkout in June by the airline’s customer service agents lasted just three days after Raitt indicated she would legislate them back to work.
While that strike slowed operations for the airline, a strike by the flight attendants would cripple Air Canada.
The airline has yet to disclose its contingency plans in the event of a strike, but has said it would operate a partial schedule with the help of its codeshare partners.
Jazz will continue to operate regional connector service for Air Canada since its flight attendants operate under a separate contract.
Air Canada is allowing travellers who are to booked to fly over the next six days to change their flights free of charge to a later date, subject to availability.
In August, the Air Canada flight attendants resoundingly rejected a tentative deal CUPE negotiated with the airline, forcing the two sides back to the drawing board.
The key areas of dispute are wages, pensions and crew rest, working conditions and work rules.
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