Air Canada travellers load their luggage at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Que., on Aug. 19.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The labour dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants continues after the union said Saturday its members had overwhelmingly voted against a tentative agreement that ended a four-day strike last month.
Here’s what you need to know about the Air Canada strike and what it could mean for you.
What is the latest news?
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the Air Canada flight attendants, said that 99.1 per cent of employees had voted against the deal, after a 10-day process that saw more than 10,000 members cast their vote. The turnout was 94.6 per cent.
Now, the union and Air Canada will meet with a mediator to find ways to reach common ground on the issue of wages. If they do not, the matter will be referred to an arbitrator at the Canada Industrial Relations Board, who will decide on an appropriate wage increase for flight attendants – a decision that cannot be challenged by either side.
What happened before?
Air Canada flight attendants went on a nationwide strike in mid-August over wages and the issue of unpaid work. They defied a back-to-work order issued by the federal government 12 hours after the stoppage began, resulting in a three-day strike and the grounding of domestic and international flights.
The union and the air carrier then brokered a tentative deal that would give flight attendants compensation for the unpaid work they do before a plane departs and after it lands. For one hour prior to takeoff, flight attendants would receive 50 per cent of their hourly rate as ground pay. This would rise to 70 per cent by the fourth year of the contract.
Most of the agreement was binding, including the ground pay, meaning that flight attendants were only voting on the issue of hourly pay to ratify the deal.
Flight attendants voted against Air Canada’s proposed wage increase of 20.25 per cent over four years for flight attendants with tenure of five years or less, and 16.25 per cent for those with tenure of six years or more.
How does the rejection of the tentative deal affect your Air Canada flight?
Air Canada has said flights will continue to operate and there will be no strike or lockout.
Customers who had their flights cancelled between Aug. 15 and Aug. 23 could be eligible for reimbursement or a refund and can fill out a form through the company’s website.
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What was the flight attendants’ union asking for?
Flight attendants were asking for higher wages amid the inflation crisis and compensation for all their time worked.
In a statement on its website, CUPE said Air Canada flight attendants are not paid while they perform critical safety checks, attend to onboard medical and safety emergencies and assist passengers with boarding and deplaning.
Under the lapsed contract, Air Canada’s flight attendants were paid about $33 an hour in their first year. Rouge cabin crews started at about $26 an hour.
Air Canada strike focuses on flight attendants’ unpaid work
The two sides had been in contract talks since the start of the year to replace a labour agreement that had been in place for 10 years. The strike mandate vote kicked off July 28, after the airline and union concluded the conciliation process without reaching a deal.
Air Canada and the union had both blamed the other side for stalling negotiations and providing misinformation about the offers on the table.
Canada’s other major carrier, WestJet Airlines, as well as PAL Airlines, a regional carrier in Atlantic Canada and Quebec that also flies for Air Canada, both have collective agreements that expire at the end of this year.
Last October, Air Canada pilots voted in favour of a new contract with the airline, averting a strike or lockout. The deal will see the pilots receive a nearly 42-per-cent cumulative wage increase over four years.
Air Canada flight attendants strike outside Montreal–Trudeau International Airport on Saturday.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
What is the significance of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code in the Air Canada strike?
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code during the strike, which gives the minister the unilateral power to order binding arbitration and end work stoppages in the name of securing “industrial peace.”
The federal government has a long history of intervening to end strikes, but in the past it largely did so by passing back-to-work legislation in Parliament. Then, in 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that the right to strike is constitutionally protected, making such legislation more difficult.
Instead, since 2024, Ottawa has repeatedly turned to Section 107 to shut down strikes at ports in British Columbia and Montreal, railway strikes and December’s postal strike. In each of those case, workers returned to their jobs.
Air Canada’s flight attendants,however, defied the back-to-work order and continued striking.
The union for 10,000 striking Air Canada flight attendants said on Monday they won’t return to work even though the strike, now in its third day, has been declared illegal. The job action at Canada’s largest airline is affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season.
The Associated Press
With reports from Vanmala Subramaniam, Dayne Patterson, Jason Kirby, Laura Stone, Eric Atkins, The Canadian Press and Reuters
Are you affected by the Air Canada flight attendant strike?
Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants have reached a tentative deal to end a strike that began on Aug. 16. The airline said it will gradually begin operations after cancelling hundreds of flights since last week. 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.