Air Canada AC-T and labour negotiators representing striking flight attendants resumed bargaining on Monday night with the assistance of a mediator, the union said.
The talks are the first to take place since Friday, a day before the 10,000 flight attendants went on strike.
In a statement on Facebook, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said the airline contacted it on Monday to restart negotiations that have hit an impasse over wages and pay for pre-flight work.
“These meetings started this evening, and we will keep everyone posted on how they move forward,” the union said. “At this time, the strike is still on, and the talks have just commenced.”
Earlier on Monday, CUPE defied a second order to resume working, even though the job action was declared illegal by the federal labour relations board, in a move that could mean fines or jail terms for union leaders.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board said in a decision issued on Monday morning the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ defiance of a back-to-work order on Sunday is “unlawful.”
The union for 10,000 striking Air Canada flight attendants said on Monday they won’t return to work even though the strike has been declared illegal
The Associated Press
The decision ordered the union leaders to send their members back to work by noon on Monday, and also directed the members themselves to return to their duties.
“The members of the union’s bargaining unit are directed to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,” reads the directive, signed by Jennifer Webster, vice-chairperson of the CIRB.
The order was issued in response to an application by Air Canada.
Flight attendants walked off the job early on Saturday morning, halting about 700 flights a day and grounding Canada’s largest airline. About 500,000 customers’ flights have been cancelled in the strike, Air Canada said.
Earlier Monday, Air Canada chief operating officer Mark Nasr had said flight attendants need to return to work before the airline can push on with negotiations.
“We tremendously value all of our flight attendants. We need to deliver them industry leading compensation. We need to eliminate unpaid work,” Mr. Nasr said. “But we can’t do that while our planes are grounded and customers are stranded all around the world.”
Mark Hancock, CUPE national president, said the flight attendants would not be returning to work on Monday, and the union would continue to fight for better working conditions.
“If it means folks like me are going to jail, so be it,” Mr. Hancock said at a press conference at a hotel near Toronto Pearson Airport.
“If it means our union being fined, so be it.”
Opinion: Ottawa’s Air Canada strike debacle shows it failed to learn from history
He said he is sorry Air Canada’s passengers were caught up in the dispute but dismissed the airline’s plan announced on Sunday to resume flights by late Monday.
Air Canada and the union negotiators are unable to agree on wages.
The airline has offered a pay increase of 17.2 per cent over four years. The union says this does not account for inflation over the past decade, and says its members must be fairly compensated for work they do before a plane takes off.
Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu said in a video statement late Monday that any unpaid work by flight attendants is “unacceptable” and that “nobody should work for free in this country.” The government will investigate “allegations” of unpaid work and close any loopholes the company may be using, she said, noting that there’s still time for the company and union to reach an agreement on their own.
A flight attendant for Air Canada Rouge, the carrier’s discount subsidiary, who is awaiting a flight home from a foreign city, said the airline has sent e-mails to employees reminding them the strike has been declared illegal and urging them to return to work.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the flight attendant because he is not authorized to speak publicly.
The flight attendant said he supports the strike, and wants to be paid for preflight work, in addition to better pay. Flight attendants are paid monthly, which can be a hardship, and Rouge employees are paid on a lower scale than their mainline counterparts.
Airlines work to add flights, make schedule adjustments in face of Air Canada labour dispute
Steven Tufts, a professor at York University in Toronto, said CIRB’s declaration that the strike is illegal escalates the dispute substantially.
At least two Canadian labour leaders have been jailed for defying back-to-work orders.
Jean-Claude Parrot, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, was sentenced to three months in jail in 1980 after his members refused to obey legislation and return to work. Grace Hartman, national president of CUPE, was jailed in 1981 for 45 days for defying a court-issued order to end an illegal strike by hospital workers in Ontario.
CUPE has also launched a court fight against the constitutionality of the order ending the strike, a move that further entangles the “messy” dispute, Prof. Tufts said.
He said if Air Canada pressed for sanctions against the union leaders it would damage any chance of good labour relations in the long term. He also questioned whether Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to be seen as hard on unions at a time he is rallying labour and businesses against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Mr. Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Monday it is “disappointing” negotiations have not yielded a new labour contract.
The dispute has disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors, he said, urging both sides to reach an agreement as soon as possible.
“We recognize very much the critical role that flight attendants play in keeping Canadians and their families safe as they travel, comfortable as they travel,” Mr. Carney said. “And it’s important that they’re compensated equitably at all times, fairly at all times.”
Alban Avdulaj had been planning to join his sister and common-law wife hiking volcanic vistas at the end of their 18-day Portuguese vacation. Instead, he found himself holed up in a nearby café researching the intricacies of airline liability.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's disappointed Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants weren't able to reach a deal after eight months of negotiations and is urging both sides to quickly resolve the situation that is causing chaos for travellers.
The Canadian Press
He said a panic began setting in after news broke of the union overwhelmingly voting in favour of a strike set to start the very weekend the trio was returning to Toronto.
After hours spent calling the airline and waiting for a callback before and after their flight was cancelled, an agent called them Sunday evening with good news: Their limbo in the Portuguese capital could end Wednesday as Air Canada had found them alternative routes home.
Then, they woke up Monday morning to news that the Canadian carrier had cancelled these flights and scheduled them on a new Air Canada flight departing this Friday, said Mr. Avdulaj, who contends the airline breached its requirement to book them on the next available flight.
In social media messages the couple shared with The Globe and Mail, an Air Canada agent said those initial rebookings had to be cancelled because “there were corrupted exchanges made that were unrecognized due to the original ticket you held not matching the other airlines.”
Ms. Hajdu on Saturday used Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to order an end to the stoppage and directed the CIRB to arbitrate a resolution to the impasse at the bargaining table.
The union defied the order and the airline cancelled plans to resume some flights on Sunday.
Michael Rousseau, Air Canada chief executive officer, said in a BNN interview he is “disappointed” on behalf of the airline’s customers. Air Canada said in a statement the rolling flight cancellations will continue until Tuesday afternoon.
The airline on Monday morning suspended its financial guidance for the third quarter and full year, citing the strike and suspension of all flights.
James McGarragle, a stock analyst at Royal Bank of Canada, said the strike is costing the airline $61-milion a day in lost revenue. This is putting pressure on Air Canada in what is typically its most profitable quarter. Mr. McGarragle, in a note to clients, estimates the strike will reduce the airline’s profit before taxes and other expenses by $300-million a week.
Before suspending its financial guidance on Monday, Air Canada said its full-year profit, reported as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, would be between $3.2-billion and $3.6-billion.
With a report from Mike Hager
Are you affected by the Air Canada flight attendant strike?
The union representing around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants has been on strike since Aug. 16 after negotiations between the two sides reached an impasse, and the company has cancelled flights. Our reporters want to hear from passengers that have had their plans affected by the strike. Have you had to switch your flights or change your travel schedule? Share your story in the box below.