TORONTO, Aug 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Flight crew at Air Canada have ended a dispute with the airline that had grounded flights and stranded thousands of passengers since Saturday.
A tentative agreement was announced by the union representing flight attendants and confirmed by the airline. Flights began resuming later on Tuesday.
More than 10,000 staff walked out in protest at pay and scheduling. The deal has not been disclosed in full, although the union said it achieves “transformational change” for workers and the industry.
According to media reports, the airline is proposing immediate pay increases of between 8% and 12% for flight attendants. Flight attendants need to ratify the proposed deal.
The breakthrough came early on Tuesday nine hours after talks began with the help of an approved mediator appointed by the government.
“Unpaid work is over,” said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in a statement, calling the negotiations a “historic fight” for the industry.
The union also advised its members to “fully co-operate with resumption of operations”.
The dispute between Air Canada and the union had escalated when CUPE rejected an order to return to work issued by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, which deemed the strike “unlawful” in a ruling on Monday.
While the first flights restarted on Tuesday evening, Air Canada said it may take days to return to a full service because aircraft and crew are out of position.
The airline added that it would not comment on the terms of the agreed deal until it had been ratified.
CUPE said Air Canada’s initial contract offer was “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage” and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of flights.
According to media reports, the tentative deal would give flight attendants at least an hour of ground pay, for their time before each flight, at a rate of 50% of their hourly rate, with that rate increasing 5% each year.
The union also rejected an order by the Canadian government to enter binding arbitration and return to work over the weekend, accusing it of “caving to corporate pressure”.
After the union’s refusal, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu encouraged the two parties on Monday to resume talks and said her ministry would order a probe into “the allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector”.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “relieved” to hear about the agreement.
“It is my hope that this will ensure flight attendants are compensated fairly at all times, while ending disruption for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families, workers, and visitors to Canada,” he wrote on X.
The nearly four-day strike has affected more than 500,000 passengers, Air Canada has said.
The airline – Canada’s largest – operates around 700 flights daily, serving both domestic and international travellers. — NNN-AGENCIES
