Air Canada, Flight Attendants Union Will Head to Arbitration
…. Canadian Union of Public Employees asked to cancel planned mediation.
By Zach Vasile
The labor union representing Air Canada’s flight attendants has asked to cancel mediation and move wage negotiations to direct arbitration.
In a statement released Tuesday, Canada’s largest airline said the Canadian Union of Public Employees “asked to dispense with the mediation process.” Air Canada agreed to the request, meaning wage negotiations will now proceed to arbitration.
CUPE confirmed the request to CBC News. The union said it saw no potential benefit in mediation and believes arbitration “will put money in our members’ pockets and conclude this process as quickly as possible.”
End In Sight
Arbitration would bring an end to what has become Canada’s most high-profile labor dispute in years.
Last month, CUPE flight attendants walked off the job to protest what the union described as uncompetitive wages, as well as a lack of compensation for duties like carrying out safety checks and helping passengers board. Air Canada’s flight attendants are only paid for work performed while an aircraft’s doors are closed.
The strike forced Air Canada to cancel all mainline and Air Canada Rouge flights. The shutdown affected about 500,000 people traveling to, from, and within Canada.
The Canadian government intervened to halt the strike, declaring it illegal, and after three days Air Canada and CUPE reached a tentative agreement that partially addressed the unpaid work issue. Despite the union leadership’s enthusiasm for the deal, the flight attendants voted overwhelmingly to reject it, ensuring the issue would go to mediation and possibly arbitration.
The offer provided year-one wage increases of 12% for mainline and Rouge flight attendants with five years of service or less and 8% for those with six years or more, and subsequent annual increases of 3%, 2.5%, and 2.75%.
During negotiations, CUPE agreed not to call another strike, taking the possibility of further flight disruptions off the table.
Arbitration is widely expected to lock in the provisions already agreed to by Air Canada and CUPE.
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