Air Canada cancels more flights as union vows to continue ‘unlawful’ strike – National

Canada’s jobs minister urged Air Canada and its flight attendants to resume bargaining and ordered a federal probe into allegations of unpaid work by the union, which said Monday it was willing to risk jail time as it continues to strike.

Patty Hajdu weighed into the labour dispute after the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) Air Canada component defied an order by the Canada Industrial Relations Board to return to work that deemed the strike “unlawful.”

The airline, meanwhile, said all flights of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge will remain suspended through 4 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday as union members continue their strike action.

“It’s not too late to get a deal,” Hajdu said in a video statement posted to X late Monday.

“In fact, the corporation and the union could sit down today and find a path forward together, and that will result in the best deal.”

The minister added she has ordered a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector, which CUPE has said remain unresolved in its negotiations with Air Canada. The probe will begin immediately, Hajdu said.

“If employers are exploiting loopholes in the Canada Labour Code, w’ll close them,” she said. “Nobody should be expected to work for free.”

CUPE national president Mark Hancock told reporters earlier Monday there’s “no limit” to what they’ll do to try and get a good deal for members.

Those comments came just minutes after a deadline set by the Canada Industrial Relations Board for leadership to tell its members it was revoking its strike declaration and for members to return to work.

“There’s no limit, we’re going to stay strong,” Hancock said. “We’re going to stay committed to making sure that those workers can do the job that they love doing.

“If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it.”

The union has argued continuing the strike is necessary to pressure Air Canada back to the bargaining table to resolve outstanding issues, including allegations that flight attendants are forced to work unpaid when performing duties on the ground before and after flights.

Air Canada has disputed those allegations.

The CIRB on Monday had deemed the ongoing strike by the union as “unlawful.”

“The union and its officers are ordered to immediately cease all activities that declare or authorize an unlawful strike of its members and to direct the members of the bargaining unit to resume the performance of their duties,” the order says.

The board had also ruled the union and its officers were required to provide public notice by 12 p.m. Eastern to its members that it had “revoked its declaration or authorization of strike activities and that all members are required to resume the performance of their duties.”

Global News reached out to CUPE for comment after the order was issued.

“Sit tight this is not over,” CUPE said in an email when asked for a response to the airline’s post.

Air Canada said in a post earlier on Monday about the order that it expected 500,000 customers’ flights have been cancelled as a result of the strike.

The strike was first launched by the union on Saturday morning after it and the airline were unable to reach an 11th hour deal before the deadline.

Hours later, Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to ask the CIRB to order workers back to work and to impose binding arbitration. She also asked for the CIRB to extend the current collective agreement until the arbitrator was satisfied with the new deal.

The CIRB on Sunday ordered Air Canada and flight attendants to resume their duties as of 2 p.m. Eastern that day, but following the order CUPE advised its members it remained on strike.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday it was “disappointing” negotiations between the union and Air Canada did not come to an agreement.

“We are in a situation where literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are being disrupted by this action,” he told reporters in Ottawa. “I urge both parties to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

The union’s decision to continue striking was met with Air Canada scrapping plans to gradually resume flights on Sunday.

 

Air Canada reported roughly 940 flights had been cancelled as a result of the work stoppage.

The airline also suspended its financial guidance for the third quarter and its full year on Monday, saying the suspension was due to the work stoppage.

The airline said cancelled flights will result in people being offered their choice of either a full refund or being rebooked on another flight, which could include one of the airline’s competitors.

In a statement Monday, the Air Canada component of the Air Line Pilots Association voiced solidarity with CUPE flight attendants, adding it was “disappointed” in Hajdu’s CIRB referral for binding arbitration.

“Air Canada pilots support our flight attendant colleagues in their ongoing struggle to achieve the fair contract they have earned,” union chair Tim Everetts said, calling the dispute “an important moment for organized labour across Canada.”

The union is advising pilots to show up for work when they are scheduled to fly, but also to join flight attendants on picket lines when they are off work, Everetts said.

The Canadian Labour Congress on Sunday said the “heads of Canada’s unions” put in an emergency session to stand behind Air Canada’s flight attendants.

The group called Hajdu’s intervention an “unconstitutional attack on workers’ rights” and said Canada’s labour groups were unanimously calling on the federal government to withdraw its intervention.

It also said unions are ready to “co-ordinate a fight back campaign” and promote and co-ordinate financial contributions to assist with the legal and other costs related to flight attendants’ decision to defy the back-to-work order.

Asked if he believed this could lead to wider work stoppages, Hancock said they “haven’t gone there with those folks.”

“But their support was very clear,” he said.

He referenced a similar situation in 2022, when the Ontario government legislated CUPE-represented education workers back to work.

At the time, union leaders and other groups showed support, effectively forcing Ontario Premier Doug Ford to back down from the legislation.

“When we were in that dispute a few years ago, discussions were ongoing about what that support would look like, which included shutting down other worksites,” he said. “We’re not at that point yet, and that’s not a threat, it’s just a possibility.”

— With files from The Canadian Press