Air Canada flight attendants to continue strike despite government order

Workers astatine Canada’s flagship bearer defy back-to-work bid arsenic they signifier archetypal onslaught successful 40 years.

Air Canada formation attendants person said they volition stay connected onslaught contempt a government-backed labour board’s order to instrumentality to work by 2pm ET (18:00 GMT), which they described arsenic unconstitutional.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said successful a connection connected Sunday that members would stay on strike and invited Air Canada backmost to the array to “negotiate a just deal”.

Canada’s largest hose present says it volition resume flights connected Monday evening. The onslaught was already affecting astir 130,000 travellers astir the satellite per time during the highest summertime question season.

The Canadian authorities connected Saturday moved to extremity a onslaught by much than 10,000 formation attendants astatine the country’s largest bearer by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to bid binding arbitration.

The Canada Labour Code gives the authorities the powerfulness to inquire the CIRB to enforce binding arbitration successful the involvement of protecting the economy. The CIRB issued the order, which Air Canada had sought, and unionised formation attendants opposed it.

It is antithetic for a national to defy a CIRB order. It was not instantly wide what options the authorities has if the national continues its strike.

Air Canada formation attendants walked disconnected the occupation connected Saturday for the archetypal clip since 1985, aft months of negotiations implicit a caller contract.

Natasha Stea, an Air Canada formation attendant and section national president, told Reuters that different unions joined the formation attendants’ picket enactment successful solidarity successful Toronto connected Sunday.

“They are successful enactment present contiguous due to the fact that they are seeing our rights being eroded,” Stea said.

The astir contentious contented has been the union’s request for compensation for clip spent connected the crushed betwixt flights and erstwhile helping passengers board. Attendants are mostly paid lone erstwhile their level is moving.

Workers are besides unhappy with Air Canada’s projected wage hikes and different compensation terms, which they spot arsenic insufficient to support gait with ostentation oregon lucifer the national minimum wage.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies