MONTREAL— Air Canada and the union that represents its 10,000 flight attendants have come to a tentative agreement, which ends a strike that created huge travel problems across the country. The accord, which was revealed early Tuesday, came after both sides started negotiating again late at night with the help of a federal mediator. This ended a tense stalemate in which the union ignored two orders from the Canada Industrial Relations Board to get back to work.
The walkout, which started early on Saturday, was mostly about the problem of “unpaid work.” The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said that flight attendants weren’t getting paid for important pre-flight tasks like boarding passengers, doing safety checks, and waiting on the tarmac before takeoff. The union called the new deal a win and told its members, “Unpaid work is over.” “We have gotten back our voice and our power.”
Michael Rousseau, the CEO of Air Canada, said that the strike had a big effect on travelers and that more than 500,000 customers were affected by cancellations. He said that flights would start up again at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, but that getting everything back to normal would be a “complex undertaking” that may take a week or more to settle. The airline aims to finish about half of its scheduled flights on Tuesday, focusing on international outbound routes. On Wednesday, it will start to increase its North American operations.
The airline said that mediation talks started only when the union’s flight attendants agreed to go back to work right away. In the next few weeks, the members of the union will vote on whether or not to approve the new deal, which includes a promise from the union to help with the resumption of operations. During this time of ratification, neither a strike nor a lockout can happen, which gives tourists peace of mind.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was happy that the strike was over because it had caused problems for “hundreds of thousands of Canadian families, workers, and visitors.” The pact is also a big accomplishment for the labor movement because the union was able to stop the government from getting involved and get a settlement that keeps the members’ right to vote on their contract. People whose flights were canceled can get a full refund or a travel credit. They can ask for these via the airline’s website or mobile app.