Air Canada, the country’s largest airline, has halted all operations after about 10,000 flight attendants launched industrial action, fueled by the wage dispute just after midnight on Saturday.
The airline, which has 130,000 passengers daily and directly flies to 180 cities around the world, said all flights will be cancelled until Sunday afternoon until the decision of the national Labor and Management Committee is pending.
The striker criticized the airline’s management for prioritizing shareholder interests over employee happiness, and held signs denounced “corporate greed” for disputes with management.
Airline executives have denounced the Workers’ Union Cupe for a “vain” day of negotiations.
The airline also said customers on cancelled flights have been fully refunded.
They were urging customers not to go to the airport if they had tickets for Air Canada or its low-cost subsidiary Air Canada Daluge.
The Canadian government has made abortion attempts to quickly resolve wage disputes by intervening in the strike.
Canadian Minister of Labor Policy Patty Hajidhu moved to halt the strike and invoke legal provisions that enforce binding arbitration on both sides.
Hajdu told reporters:
She said it could take five to ten days for Air Canada to resume normal services due to the strike.
Canadian Air COO Mark Nasr also said that once provisional trading conditions are reached, it could take up to a week for the airline to resume “all operations” again.
Previously, the striker’s union has declined any claims that airlines would enter into government-oriented arbitration.
Canada’s economy has shown resilience, but it began to feel the impact of US President Donald Trump’s trade war, and his tariffs were hit by key sectors such as automobiles, aluminum and steel.
In a statement issued before the strike began, Canada’s Business Council warned that Air Canada’s work suspension could add even more pain.
“As Canada deals with unprecedented pressure on our critical economic supply chains, disruptions in national air passenger travel and freight services will immediately cause great harm to all Canadians.”
rhm/