Government Ends Air Canada Flight Attendant Strike, Travel Chaos Persists

The Canadian government has swiftly intervened to halt a strike by Air Canada flight attendants, ordering them back to work less than 12 hours after their job action began. The directive, which includes mandatory binding arbitration, comes amid significant travel disruption that has left over 100,000 travellers stranded globally during the peak summer season.

Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu announced Saturday that negotiations between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing the flight attendants, had reached an impasse. Citing severe economic disruption and impact on Canadians, Minister Hajdu utilized a rarely invoked section of the Canada Labour Code to immediately end the work stoppage.

The strike, which commenced in the early hours of Saturday, resulted in 671 flight cancellations by Saturday afternoon, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. While Air Canada anticipates restarting flights Sunday evening, the airline has cautioned that cancellations and service disruptions could continue for another seven to ten days as operations gradually stabilize.

The core of the dispute revolves around what the union terms ‘poverty wages’ and a lack of compensation for pre- and post-flight duties. CUPE has strongly condemned the government’s swift intervention, accusing it of undermining workers’ rights and favoring Air Canada, which reportedly sought government arbitration. The union points to a perceived disparity in compensation, noting that predominantly male pilots received substantial raises last year, while the largely female flight attendant workforce struggles with ‘unpaid labour’.

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