Air Canada flight attendants launched a strike on Saturday, prompting the airline to suspend all operations and disrupting summer travel for approximately 130,000 passengers a day. “We are now officially on strike,” stated the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants. “Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport,” it said, adding that it “deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers.” The airlines, which operate direct flights to 180 cities globally, notified that it has “suspended all operations” due to the strike.CUPE was legally entitled to strike from 12.01 am (local time) Saturday after issuing a 72-hour notice on Wednesday, with the walkout officially starting at 12.58 am (local time), both sides confirmed.Air Canada already scaled back operations in anticipation of the labour action. The airline reported by 8.00 pm (local time) on Friday that it cancelled 623 flights affecting over 100,000 passengers, with its entire 700-flight schedule for Saturday now scrapped, reported AFP.The flight attendants are demanding higher wages and compensation for duties performed before takeoff and after landing. The union says it aims to address unpaid ground duties, particularly tasks carried out during the boarding process.It is “common practice, even around the world,” to pay flight attendants only for the time they are in the air, Rafael Gomez, who heads the University of Toronto’s Center for Industrial Relations, was quoted as saying by AFP.“‘I’m waiting to board the plane and there’s a flight attendant helping me, but they’re technically not being paid for that work,'” he said, noting that an average passenger might not be aware of standard industry practices.Air Canada outlined its latest proposal through a statement on Thursday, noting that under the terms, a senior flight attendant would earn an average of CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027.CUPE, however, dismissed the airline’s offers as “below inflation (and) below market value.” The union has also turned down requests from both the federal government and Air Canada to resolve disputes through independent arbitration.“The airline does not want to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue… They’re almost playing chicken with the flight attendants,” Gomez said, as reported by AFP.“Air Canada’s response to our proposals makes one thing clear: they are not interested in resolving these critical issues,” the union said, highlighting that eight months of negotiations and an offer for arbitration have not led to an agreement.“At a time when Canada is dealing with unprecedented pressures on our critical economic supply chains, the disruption of national air passenger travel and cargo transport services would cause immediate and extensive harm to all Canadians,” stated the Business Council of Canada, warning that a work stoppage could worsen the situation.
