More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants will continue striking despite federal back-to-work orders, their union said Sunday, intensifying disruption at Canada’s largest airline.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) told members they remain “on strike and locked out” and stressed there was no obligation to report for duty. The defiance comes after Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to enforce a return to work under Section 107 of the Labour Code.
Air Canada said it had cancelled 240 flights on Sunday after CUPE “illegally directed” staff to stay off the job. The airline said flights will resume Monday evening.
Union’s demands
CUPE members walked out early Saturday after voting almost unanimously for strike action. They are demanding higher wages and compensation for time spent on the ground.
Union president Wesley Lesosky accused the government of violating Charter rights by siding with Air Canada. He said the company expected “hours and hours of unpaid labour” while reaping “extraordinary executive compensation.”
Company’s offer
Air Canada said it had proposed a 38% rise in total compensation over four years, including a 12% to 16% hourly wage increase in the first year.
The union rejected the offer, calling instead for fresh talks “at the bargaining table rather than through government intervention.”
Government stance
Minister Hajdu denied being anti-union, saying both sides had reached an impasse and required arbitration.
The Labour Ministry and Air Canada have not responded to further requests for comment.
Air Canada grounded on Monday
Air Canada's fleet of hundreds of planes remained grounded on Monday morning after striking flight attendants refused a government-backed order to get back to work and called on the airline to return to the bargaining table.
The carrier, which normally carries 130,000 people daily and is part of the global Star Alliance of airlines, had planned to start ramping up operations on Sunday evening, after a labour relations board ordered the union to return to work and start binding arbitration.
The union said no, setting up an almost unprecedented standoff with the Canadian government, which had requested the back-to-work order.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators have discussed an ambitious goal of reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine by March, though the timeline...
At least 31 killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on religious site in Islamabad....
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal met with senior U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss strengthening military and secur...
Escalating clashes in South Kivu’s highlands are sending a rising flow of wounded to Fizi’s small general hospital, where staff warn they are runn...
Storm Leonardo has swept across the Iberian Peninsula, causing widespread flooding, landslides and transport disruption in Portugal and Spain, leaving...
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators have discussed an ambitious goal of reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine by March, though the timeline is widely viewed as unrealistic due to deep disagreements over territory, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.
At least 31 killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on religious site in Islamabad.
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal met with senior U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss strengthening military and security cooperation, regional developments and the challenges facing Lebanon, the Lebanese army said on Friday.
Storm Leonardo has swept across the Iberian Peninsula, causing widespread flooding, landslides and transport disruption in Portugal and Spain, leaving at least one person dead and forcing thousands to evacuate as authorities issued urgent warnings.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has deployed one of its largest ballistic missiles at a newly unveiled underground base on Wednesday (3 February), just two days ahead of mediated nuclear talks with the United States in Muscat, Oman.
Winter weather has brought air travel in the German capital to a complete halt, stranding thousands of passengers as severe icing conditions make runways and aircraft unsafe for operation and force authorities to shut down one of Europe’s key transport hubs.
Storm Leonardo has swept across the Iberian Peninsula, causing widespread flooding, landslides and transport disruption in Portugal and Spain, leaving at least one person dead and forcing thousands to evacuate as authorities issued urgent warnings.
Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians including seven children in Gaza on Wednesday (4 February), health officials said, the latest violence to undermine the nearly four-month-old ceasefire.
An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday before detonating a suicide bomb that killed at least 31 people in the deadliest assault of its kind in the capital in more than ten years.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators have discussed an ambitious goal of reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine by March, though the timeline is widely viewed as unrealistic due to deep disagreements over territory, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.
At least 31 killed, scores wounded in suicide attack on religious site in Islamabad.
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal met with senior U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss strengthening military and security cooperation, regional developments and the challenges facing Lebanon, the Lebanese army said on Friday.
Escalating clashes in South Kivu’s highlands are sending a rising flow of wounded to Fizi’s small general hospital, where staff warn they are running out of space and supplies as the conflict expands across remote areas.
Storm Leonardo has swept across the Iberian Peninsula, causing widespread flooding, landslides and transport disruption in Portugal and Spain, leaving at least one person dead and forcing thousands to evacuate as authorities issued urgent warnings.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment