Air Canada flight attendants said yesterday they would remain on strike despite a government-backed labour board’s order to return to work by 2pm, calling the order unconstitutional.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement that members would remain on strike and invited Air Canada back to the table to “negotiate a fair deal.” The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from yesterday until today evening.
On Saturday, the Canadian government under Prime Minister Mark Carney moved to end a strike by more than 10,000 flight attendants at the country’s largest carrier by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order binding arbitration. The CIRB issued the order, which Air Canada had sought, and unionised flight attendants opposed.
The Canada Labour Code gives the government the power to ask the CIRB to impose binding arbitration in the interest of protecting the economy.
The government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. It was not immediately clear what options the government has if the union continues its strike.
Air Canada had said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening, following the expected end of the strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily flights on Saturday, stranding more than 100,000 passengers. Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract.
The union called a decision by the CIRB chair Maryse Tremblay to not recuse herself from handling the case a “staggering conflict of interest,” since she had worked as a senior counsel for Air Canada in the past. According to Tremblay’s LinkedIn profile, she served as Air Canada’s counsel from 1998 to 2004.
Air Canada, the CIRB, and a Canadian government spokesperson were not immediately available for comment.
Other unions joined the flight attendants’ picket line in solidarity in Toronto on Sunday.
“They are in support here today because they are seeing our rights being eroded,” said Natasha Stea, an Air Canada flight attendant and local union president.
Air Canada had started cancelling flights on Thursday in anticipation of the stoppage.
Travellers at Toronto Pearson International Airport said they were confused about whether their flights would resume or Air Canada would make alternative arrangements.
“We are kind of left to figure it out for ourselves and fend for ourselves with no recourse or options provided by Air Canada at this time,” said Elizabeth Fourney of Vancouver.