A whole lot of flights grounded as industrial motion begins

Air Canada has suspended all its flights as a strike by cabin workers begins – a transfer the airline mentioned will disrupt journey plans for round 130,000 passengers a day.

The union representing greater than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the beginning of commercial motion early on Saturday morning.

The airline mentioned it had suspended all flights, together with these underneath its funds arm Air Canada Rouge, and suggested affected prospects to not journey to the airport until flying with a unique airline.

Air Canada’s flight attendants are calling for greater salaries and to be paid for work when plane are on the bottom.

The strike took impact at 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, although Air Canada started scaling again its operations earlier than then. The airline says round 500 flights might be affected per day.

Flight attendants will picket at main Canadian airports, the place passengers have been already attempting to safe new bookings earlier within the week.

Air Canada, which flies on to 180 cities worldwide, mentioned it had “suspended all operations” and that it was “strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport”.

It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights have been unaffected by the strike.

“Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers,” it mentioned.

By Friday evening, the airline mentioned it had cancelled 623 flights affecting greater than 100,000 passengers, as a part of a winding down of operations forward of the strike.

In contract negotiations, the airline mentioned it had supplied flight attendants a 38% improve in complete compensation over 4 years, with a 25% increase within the first yr.

CUPE mentioned the supply was “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage” and would nonetheless go away flight attendants unpaid for some hours of labor, together with boarding and ready at airports forward of flights.

The union and the airline have publicly traded barbs about one another’s willingness to achieve an settlement.

Earlier this month, 99.7% of workers represented by the union voted for a strike.

Canadian jobs minister Patty Hajdu this week urged Air Canada and the union to return to the bargaining desk to keep away from a strike.

She additionally mentioned in an announcement that Air Canada had requested her to refer the dispute to binding arbitration.

CUPE has asserted that it had been negotiating in good religion for greater than eight months, however that Air Canada as an alternative sought government-directed arbitration.

“When we stood strong together, Air Canada didn’t come to the table in good faith,” the union mentioned in an announcement to its members. “Instead, they called on the federal government to step in and take those rights away.”