Air Canada cabin crew walked off the job early Saturday, grounding a whole bunch of flights and stranding hundreds of passengers pressured to hunt alternate 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 stated.
It is unclear what number of U.S. passengers are affected. Air Canada operates about 430 flights to the USA day by day, out of greater than 1,000 whole flights, in line with Journey and Tour World.
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Unionized Air Canada staff fashioned picket strains exterior main Canadian airports as they fought for higher pay and circumstances.
The Canadian Union of Public Workers, representing greater than 10,000 flight attendants, stated its members are presently 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 part of CUPE, stated in a press convention in Toronto that, as of Saturday morning, there have been no bargaining classes scheduled between the 2 sides, which have held on-and-off negotiations for months.
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“We’re right here as a result of Air Canada forces us to work totally free for hours and hours each day, and we’re right here as a result of we’re not going to simply accept it anymore,” he stated.
Air Canada stated its package deal raises general compensation by 38% over 4 years, whereas the union stresses that the corporate is barely providing 50% pay for floor duties like boarding and deplaning, not full hourly wages.
The corporate stated its supply would make Air Canada flight attendants one of the best 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 stated.
Air Canada stated hourly charges would rise as excessive as 94 Canadian {dollars} ($69 U.S.) within the first yr, reflecting a 12% to 16% enhance that features an 8% enhance to base wages and one other 4% to eight% via a brand new floor pay method. By 2027, it stated senior flight attendants would earn a median of 87,000 Canadian {dollars} ($63,000 U.S.) a yr, with about 20% making 90,000 Canadian {dollars} ($65,700 U.S.) or extra.Air Canada stated on Saturday that it “stays engaged and dedicated to barter a renewal to its collective settlement with CUPE.”
“Air Canada deeply regrets the impact the strike is having on prospects,” the corporate stated in an announcement.
The airline is strongly advising affected prospects to not go to the airport except they’ve a confirmed ticket on an airline aside from Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge.
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“Air Canada will notify prospects with imminent journey of extra canceled flights and their choices,” the corporate stated. “For these prospects because of journey quickly whose flights are usually not but canceled, Air Canada has put in place a goodwill coverage to permit them to rebook their journey or acquire a credit score for future journey.”
Air Canada has requested Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority Liberal authorities to behave, however the union says it desires a negotiated resolution, as binding arbitration would take strain off the airline.
Air Canada flies to greater than 180 airports in Canada, the USA and internationally on six continents, the corporate stated.
Reuters contributed to this report.
