Cabin crew strike causes journey chaos for 130,000 Air Canada flyers

Air Canada cabin crew walked off the job early Saturday, grounding a whole bunch of flights and stranding 1000’s of passengers pressured to hunt options or keep put.

The strike, which began simply after 1 a.m. EDT, pressured Canada’s largest airline to droop most of its 700 day by day flights, affecting about 130,000 vacationers, the airline mentioned.

It’s unclear what number of U.S. passengers are affected. Air Canada operates about 430 flights to the United States day by day, out of greater than 1,000 complete flights, in keeping with Travel and Tour World.

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Unionized Air Canada workers fashioned picket traces exterior main Canadian airports as they fought for higher pay and circumstances.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, representing greater than 10,000 flight attendants, mentioned its members are at the moment paid solely when the plane is transferring from pushback to arrival and that they obtain no pay for time spent boarding passengers, serving to them deplane or ready on the bottom between flights.

The labor union is demanding full compensation for this unpaid floor time.

Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada element of CUPE, mentioned in a press convention in Toronto that, as of Saturday morning, there have been no bargaining periods scheduled between the 2 sides, which have held on-and-off negotiations for months.

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“We are here because Air Canada forces us to work for free for hours and hours every day, and we are here because we are not going to accept it anymore,” he mentioned.

Air Canada mentioned its package deal raises general compensation by 38% over 4 years, whereas the union stresses that the corporate is just providing 50% pay for floor duties like boarding and deplaning, not full hourly wages.

The firm mentioned its supply would make Air Canada flight attendants the most effective compensated in Canada. Already, cabin crew earn as much as $17 extra per hour than their counterparts on the firm’s largest home competitor, it mentioned.

Air Canada mentioned hourly charges would rise as excessive as 94 Canadian {dollars} ($69 U.S.) within the first 12 months, reflecting a 12% to 16% improve that features an 8% enhance to base wages and one other 4% to eight% by a brand new floor pay system. By 2027, it mentioned senior flight attendants would earn a median of 87,000 Canadian {dollars} ($63,000 U.S.) a 12 months, with about 20% making 90,000 Canadian {dollars} ($65,700 U.S.) or extra.Air Canada mentioned on Saturday that it “remains engaged and committed to negotiate a renewal to its collective agreement with CUPE.”

“Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement.

The airline is strongly advising affected clients to not go to the airport except they’ve a confirmed ticket on an airline apart from Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge.

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“Air Canada will notify customers with imminent travel of additional canceled flights and their options,” the corporate mentioned. “For those customers due to travel soon whose flights are not yet canceled, Air Canada has put in place a goodwill policy to allow them to rebook their travel or obtain a credit for future travel.”

Air Canada has requested Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority Liberal authorities to behave, however the union says it needs a negotiated resolution, as binding arbitration would take strain off the airline.

Air Canada flies to greater than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and internationally on six continents, the corporate mentioned.

Reuters contributed to this report.