TORONTO: Air Canada’s flight attendants were poised to strike on Saturday as the carrier cancelled hundreds of flights impacting more than 100,000 passengers ahead of a threatened work stoppage that could shut down service.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants, was in a legal position to strike as of 12:01am (0401 GMT), after delivering a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday.
The public broadcaster CBC reported the labour action could begin around 1:00 am if no last-minute deal is reached.
Air Canada, which transports about 130,000 passengers daily, had said it would gradually wind down operations ahead of the possible strike.
As of 8:00 pm Friday, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers.
In addition to wage increases, the union says it wants to address uncompensated ground work, including during the boarding process.
Rafael Gomez, who heads the University of Toronto’s Center for Industrial Relations, told AFP it’s “common practice, even around the world” to compensate flight attendants based on time spent in the air.
He said the union had built an effective communication campaign around the issue, creating a public perception of unfairness.
An average passenger, not familiar with common industry practice, could think, “‘I’m waiting to board the plane and there’s a flight attendant helping me, but they’re technically not being paid for that work,'” he said.
“That’s a very good issue to highlight.”
Air Canada detailed its latest offer in a Thursday statement, specifying that under the terms, a senior flight attendant would on average make CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027.
CUPE has described Air Canada’s offers as “below inflation (and) below market value.”
The union has also rejected requests from the federal government and Air Canada to resolve outstanding issues through independent arbitration.
Gomez said that if the flight attendants strike, he does not expect the stoppage to last long.
“This is peak season,” he said.
“The airline does not want to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue… They’re almost playing chicken with the flight attendants.”
