Mathieu Dion
(Bloomberg) — Air Canada said it remains available to continue negotiations with its flight attendants as it winds down operations ahead of a potential labor disruption.
The Montreal-based airline has hit an impasse with the union representing more than 10,500 flight attendants over compensation, despite eight months of negotiations. The company and the union have both submitted notice that a disruption would begin Saturday.
Air Canada operates flights to John Wayne Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.
“Abrupt work stoppages at airlines create chaos for travelers,” Air Canada’s head of human resources and public affairs, Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, told reporters in Toronto Thursday. “We’re still available for negotiations.”
Flight attendants holding signs saying “Unpaid work won’t fly” and alleging their compensation constitutes “poverty wages” interrupted the press conference.
About 500 mainline and Air Canada Rouge flights will be canceled by Friday evening, and all flights will be paused by 1 a.m. Toronto time on Saturday, disrupting travel plans for more than 130,000 passengers, the carrier said. Cargo operations will also be impacted, but the nearly 300 daily regional flights of Air Canada Express are unaffected since they are operated by third-party companies.
Customers will be notified and offered a full refund, and Air Canada will propose alternatives with competitor airlines when possible.
Air Canada has asked the Canadian government to send the parties to binding arbitration, which would force flight attendants back to work and eventually lead to a final determination. The union, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, on Thursday asked Prime Minister Mark Carney “to refrain from intervening in this constitutionally protected process for workers to be able to freely negotiate a collective agreement with their employer.”
Patty Hajdu, Canada’s labor minister, said in a statement posted to social media that “deals that are made at the bargaining table are the best ones.”
“I urged both parties to put their differences aside, come back to the bargaining table and get this done now for the many travelers who are counting on you,” Hajdu said.
38% Boost
Air Canada offered to increase total compensation, including benefits and bonuses, by 25% in the first year and 38% over four years, and agreed to pay workers for some of the time they spend on the ground. Currently, Air Canada flight attendants are only paid when the aircraft is in motion and not for work such as boarding — a common practice in the industry.
“The negotiation started with CUPE demanding increases in compensation of more than 100%,” Meloul-Wechsler said.
For its part, the union has said the 38% proposal would in fact represent a salary increase of 17.2% over four years. The union said the airline’s compensation offer is “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage — and still leaves flight attendants unpaid for all hours of work.”