Toronto (AP) – The union representing 10,000 strikes Air Canada On -board agents said on Sunday that he would challenge the work and continue a strike that blocked more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the tip of summer trips.
Canada’s Industrial Relations Council ordered the staff of airlines at work on Sunday at 2 p.m. After the government’s intervention and Air Canada said he was planning to resume flights on Sunday evening.
“Our members do not return to work,” said national president of the Canadian Union of Public, Mark Hancock, outside Toronto airport. “We say no.”
Hancock said that “the whole process was unfair” and said he would dispute what he called an unconstitutional order.
“Air Canada really refused to negotiate with us and they refused to negotiate with us because they knew that this government would come on their white horse and try to save the day,” he said.
The federal government and the airline did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The country’s largest airline said early Sunday in a statement that the first flights will resume later in the day, but it will take several days before its operations returned to normal. He said some flights will be canceled over the next seven to 10 days until the calendar is stabilized.
Less than 12 hours after workers left the post, the federal minister of jobs Patty Hajdu ordered 10,000 on -board agents Back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and note the Unprecedented prices The United States has imposed in Canada. Hajdu has returned work to the Canada Industrial Relations Council.
The airline said that the Canada Industrial Relations Council has extended the duration of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator.
The closure of the largest airline in Canada early on Saturday had an impact About 130,000 people a day. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day.
According to figures from the Cirium aviation analysis supplier, Air Canada canceled a total of 494 flights on Sunday morning. This is added to the hundreds of flights he canceled in the previous days.
The fight against bitter contracts intensified on Friday while the union refused the previous request of Air Canada to conclude an arbitration led by the government, which allows a third -party mediator to decide on the terms of a new contract.
The on -board agents left the post around 1 a.m. on the HA on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said that it would start to lock the airports on -board agents.
Last year, the government forced the two major railways of the country to arbitration With their union during a work stoppage. The union of rail workers is continuing, arguing that the Government removes the leverage of a union in the negotiations.
The Canada Affairs Council also urged the government to impose a binding arbitration in this case. And the Canadian Chamber of Commerce praised the intervention.
Hajdu argued that his liberal government is not anti-union, saying that it is clear that the two parties are at a dead end.
Passengers whose flights are assigned may request a full refund on the website or mobile application of the airline, according to Air Canada.
The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. However, he warned that this could not guarantee immediate refund because thefts on other airlines are already complete “due to the peak in summer travel”.
Air Canada and CUP have been in contractual talks for about eight months, but they have not yet concluded a provisional agreement. The two parties said they are distant on the issue of remuneration and that unpaid on -the -board agents do it when the planes are not in the air.
The airline’s latest offer included a 38% increase in total remuneration, including benefits and pensions, over four years, which said: “would have made our best -profitable on -board agents in Canada”.
But the union postponed, saying that the 8% increase in the first year did not go far enough because of inflation.
