Air Canada says it will resume some flights on Monday that were suspended due to its flight attendants going on strike, despite their union saying job action continues.
It’s not yet clear how that will work, with flight attendants challenging a back-to-work order.
The airline originally planned to resume some flights on Sunday in response to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordering it and its flight attendants back to work.
But hours after that order, the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) Air Canada component said they would remain on strike, prompting Air Canada to cancel the flights it intended to resume.
“Approximately 240 flights scheduled to operate beginning this afternoon (Sunday) have now been cancelled,” the company wrote.
“The airline will resume flights as of Monday evening.”
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Flight attendants for mainline and Air Canada Rouge flights went on strike on Saturday morning after both sides were unable to reach a deal before the deadline.
A lockout also went into force by the airline.
Less than 12 hours after that began, Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu announced she was directing the CIRB to impose binding arbitration on the airline and its flight attendants.
The airline said Sunday morning the CIRB had directed it and its flight attendants to resume duties as of 2 p.m. EDT that day.
But only a few hours later, the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) Air Canada component said they would challenge the CIRB’s order, adding they remained on strike.
CUPE says it filed a challenge in federal court on Sunday against the order by the CIRB.
With flight attendants continuing their job action, Air Canada has not said how it plans to resume flights Monday.
Air Canada reported roughly 940 flights had been cancelled as a result of the work stoppage.
The airline also suspended its financial guidance for the third quarter and its full year on Monday, saying the suspension was due to the work stoppage.
The airline said cancelled flights will result in people being offered their choice of either a full refund or being rebooked on another flight, which could include one of the airline’s competitors.
Canadian labour groups have also voiced their support for the flight attendants, with the Canadian Labour Congress stating on Sunday that the “heads of Canada’s unions” put in an emergency session to stand behind Air Canada’s flight attendants.
The group called Hajdu’s intervention an “unconstitutional attack on workers’ rights” and said Canada’s labour groups were unanimously calling on the federal government to withdraw its intervention.
It also said unions are ready to “co-ordinate a fight back campaign” and promote and co-ordinate financial contributions to assist with the legal and other costs related to flight attendants’ decision to defy the back-to-work order.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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