The federal government ordered Air Canada and its flight attendants into binding arbitration on Saturday, putting an abrupt end to a strike and lockout that began less than 12 hours earlier with grounded planes and thousands of Canadians struggling to find alternate ways home.
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said just after noon that she was reluctantly intervening and ordered airline operations to resume because of the strike’s impact on Canadians and the economy.
“Air Canada has said it could take between five to 10 days for regular services to resume, and I think that’s a question for Air Canada in terms of their complex operations, what needs to happen for full resumption of services,” Hajdu told a news conference in Ottawa.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the flight attendants, responded with a statement that accused Hadju of caving to the demands of the airline.
“Air Canada asked the government to crush underpaid flight attendants’ Charter rights and Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu only waited a few hours to deliver,” the union said in a news release shortly after the minister’s announcement.
The union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants 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. Air Canada locked out its agents about 30 minutes later due to the strike action.
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights were cancelled amid the work stoppage, with an estimated 130,000 customers impacted each day that the strike continued, the company said. An update from Air Canada Saturday night said Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights remain suspended pending the arbitration outcome.
Flights by Air Canada Express, operated by third-party airlines Jazz and PAL, were not affected.
Picket lines were active at airports across Canada, including Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver on Saturday.
Upon hearing news of the federal intervention, the members on the line began to chant “Patty Hadju shame on you” in Toronto.
Shanyn Elliott, mobilization and engagement committee co-chair with the Air Canada component of CUPE, said picket lines will continue until the union tells them otherwise, or until a collective agreement is presented that includes “living wages.”
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking,” Elliott, said about the intervention at Toronto’s picket.
Air Canada had previously asked Hajdu to order the parties to enter a binding arbitration process — a power granted to the minister through Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. Intervention was something she resisted until Saturday, when she said it became clear the two sides were at an impasse.
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