TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada suspended all operations as greater than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after a deadline to achieve a deal handed, leaving vacationers around the globe stranded and scrambling through the peak summer season journey season.
Canadian Union of Public Workers spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike has began after no deal was reached, and the airline mentioned shortly after that it could halt operations.
A bitter contract struggle between Canada’s largest airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday because the union turned down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which might remove its proper to strike and permit a third-party mediator to determine the phrases of a brand new contract.
Flight attendants stroll off the job
Flight attendants walked off the job round 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Across the identical time, Air Canada mentioned it could start locking flight attendants out of airports.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with each the airline and union on Friday night time and urged them to work tougher to them to achieve a deal “as soon as and for all.”
“It’s unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are relying on each events to place ahead their finest efforts,” Hajdu mentioned in an announcement posted on social media.
Pouliot, the spokesman for the union, earlier mentioned the union had a gathering with Hajdu and representatives from Air Canada earlier Friday night.
“CUPE has engaged with the mediator to relay our willingness to proceed bargaining — even though Air Canada has not countered our final two affords since Tuesday,” he mentioned in a e mail. “We’re right here to cut price a deal, to not go on strike.”
Vacationers are in limbo
A whole shutdown will influence about 130,000 folks a day, and a few 25,000 Canadians a day could also be stranded overseas. Air Canada operates round 700 flights per day.
Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for his or her European trip. Now their $8,000 journey with nonrefundable lodging is on the road as they wait to listen to from Air Canada in regards to the destiny of their Saturday night time flight to Good, France.
How lengthy the airline’s planes will likely be grounded stays to be seen, however Air Canada Chief Working Officer Mark Nasr has mentioned it may take as much as every week to completely restart operations as soon as a tentative deal is reached.
Passengers whose journey is impacted will likely be eligible to request a full refund on the airline’s web site or cellular app, based on Air Canada.
The airline mentioned it could additionally provide different journey choices by way of different Canadian and international airways when potential. However it warned that it couldn’t assure quick rebooking as a result of flights on different airways are already full “because of the summer season journey peak.”
Laroche mentioned he thought of reserving new flights with a unique service, however he mentioned most of them are almost full and price greater than double the $3,000 they paid for his or her unique tickets.
“At this level, it’s only a ready sport,” he mentioned.
Laroche mentioned he was initially upset over the union’s determination to go on strike, however that he had a change of coronary heart after studying about the important thing points on the heart of the contract negotiations, together with the difficulty of wages.
“Their wage is barely livable,” Laroche mentioned.
Sides say they’re far aside on pay
Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Workers have been in contract talks for about eight months, however they’ve but to achieve a tentative deal.
Each side say they continue to be far aside on the difficulty of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren’t within the air.
The airline’s newest provide included a 38% enhance in complete compensation, together with advantages and pensions over 4 years, that it mentioned “would have made our flight attendants the perfect compensated in Canada.”
However the union pushed again, saying the proposed 8% elevate within the first 12 months didn’t go far sufficient due to inflation. ___
Related Press airways author Rio Yamat reported from Las Vegas.
