Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, will start suspending flights beginning Thursday. The choice comes after the airline’s flight attendants union, Canadian Union of Public Staff (CUPE), issued a 72-hour strike discover over failed contract negotiations.
The airline stated it’ll droop flights on Thursday and Friday, shifting towards a full shutdown on Saturday of each Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge if a deal isn’t reached. “A deliberate labour disruption by CUPE, the union representing 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, is predicted to start Saturday, August 16, at 01:00 ET,” Air Canada stated in a press release.
Air Canada additionally stated it has been involved with different airways to assist meet their prospects’ journey wants. It defined that the airline will try to rebook prospects’ canceled flights, probably on different airways, however acknowledged there will likely be main hurdles with rebooking in a well timed method. “In case your journey is disrupted, you possibly can all the time select a refund,” it stated.
“We remorse the influence a disruption can have on our prospects, our stakeholders, and the communities we serve,” Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau stated in a press release. “Nonetheless, the disappointing conduct of CUPE’s negotiators and the union’s acknowledged intention to launch a strike places us ready the place our solely accountable plan of action is to supply certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada’s and Air Canada Rouge’s operations by a lockout. As we have now seen elsewhere in our business with different labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, similar to we at the moment are prone to by a strike, can create chaos for travellers that’s far, far worse.”
In a press release, the union stated the airline has failed to handle its issues. The assertion referenced “poverty wages” and unpaid labor, referring to time labored whereas planes usually are not within the air. The assertion stated: “At present, Air Canada flight attendants carry out hours of important safety-related duties totally free. The corporate has provided to start compensating flight attendants for a few of these duties—however solely at 50% of their hourly charge, and the corporate continues to be refusing to compensate flight attendants for time spent responding to medical emergencies, fires, evacuations, and different security and security-related points on the bottom.”
Whereas most airways solely pay flight attendants for time within the air, some flight attendants have begun pushing again. Just lately, flight attendants in North America have sought compensation for whole hours labored. That features time on the bottom, the place ready intervals between flights happen and so they board passengers earlier than takeoff.
“We’ve lots of time in our days that we’re unpaid,” Julie Hedrick, a flight attendant for American Airways and president of the Affiliation of Skilled Flight Attendants union, informed NPR final 12 months. “All of us, after all, really feel that we needs to be paid for the minute we get to work till we go house, however we have now to have a look at your complete package deal,” she stated.
In hopes of appeasing the union, Air Canada provided a 38% improve in whole compensation for flight attendants over 4 years. It included a 25% elevate within the first 12 months. The union pushed again, saying it could solely really elevate wages by 17.2% over 4 years, and didn’t account for inflation. Air Canada had provided to compensate flight attendants for some unpaid work, however solely at half of their hourly charge.
This isn’t the primary time Air Canada has threatened to close down operations. Final 12 months, after stalled talks with the Air Line Pilots Affiliation (ALPA) union, pilots ready for a strike. Lastly, an settlement was reached after Air Canada pilots voted in favor of a brand new settlement.
If a deal isn’t reached by the weekend, the disruption will definitely be broadly felt. In accordance with the airline’s company profile, Air Canada gives service to airports throughout Canada, in addition to six continents, and is the most important overseas service to the U.S. Air Canada gives service to greater than 50 U.S. airports, with round 430 flights between the nations every day.
