On Monday morning, while thousands of passengers around the world continue to wait for information about their flights, Air Canada remains grounded due to the cabin crew strike. Although the Canadian government ordered a return to work yesterday, the CUPE union refuses to comply, stating that this is a violation of workers’ rights.
The strike began early Saturday morning Canadian time and led to the cancellation of around 700 flights on the very first day. Air Canada then fully suspended all operations, including its low-cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge, advising passengers not to come to airports unless they already had reservations with other airlines.
The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordered a return to work by Sunday at 2 p.m. CET, and the government on Sunday evening imposed binding arbitration. Labor Minister Patty Hajdu said it was necessary to maintain “stability and supply chains” since negotiations between the company and the union had dragged on for eight months without an agreement, according to the Canadian government.
However, CUPE argues that the government bowed to employer pressure and that forced arbitration violates fundamental workers’ rights. The union warns that “unresolved issues will only be swept under the rug.” Cabin crew are demanding higher wages and compensation for ground hours, while Air Canada says it offered a 38% total pay increase over four years, including 25% in the first year, according to the BBC.
In a new statement, Air Canada stressed that it had suspended its plan to gradually resume operations. “Air Canada has suspended its plan for a gradual restart of operations after CUPE illegally directed its flight attendant members not to return to work. All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights have been cancelled until further notice. Air Canada Express flights, operated by Jazz and PAL, continue to operate normally. We ask passengers not to come to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking with another airline,” the company said.
Air Canada had earlier said it would try to restart its first flights on Monday evening Canadian time, which would mean Tuesday morning CET. However, the airline warned it would take at least a week for the schedule to return to normal and that cancellations would continue for the next seven to ten days.
Passengers scheduled to fly with Air Canada still have no clear information on the third day of the strike about when services will resume, and the company issued an apology for what it called the “deep inconvenience.” According to Flightradar24 data, only five Air Canada flights are currently active, while Air Canada Rouge has none.
