The clock is now ticking for Air Canada and the union representing around 10,000 flight attendants to come to a deal before they hit the picket lines.
The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) shortly after midnight on Wednesday. The notice is required under Canadian labour laws and that means the union can begin legally setting up picket lines as early as Saturday at 1 a.m.
Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE's Air Canada component, stated that its membership returned a nearly unanimous mandate to strike - 99.7 per cent in favour - and that the airline is unwilling to negotiate.
"They want to go to arbitration, rather than stay at the bargaining table and bargain a new contract," he stated.
Lesosky added that Air Canada's offer to enter into arbitration was turned down by the union and that they're still willing to talk.
Air Canada , stating that the union "submitted a counteroffer seeking exorbitant increases, beyond those presented in earlier submissions."
The airline stated it was offering a 38 per cent wage increase over four years, including a 25 per cent pay hike in the first year of the deal. It claimed the deal would make Air Canada's flight attendants the best-paid of any airline in the country.
Air Canada has also issued notice to the union that it would lock out employees if strike action was to take place.
Should there be a strike, flights will almost certainly be affected. The big one would be the Yellowknife-Toronto direct route out of Yellowknife Airport. That's operated by Air Canada Rouge, whose flight attendants are part of the union.
Air Canada indicated on Wednesday that , meaning that flights operated by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge will most likely stop.
If you're flying to Edmonton or Vancouver, those flights are usually operated by Air Canada Express through either Jazz Aviation or PAL Airlines. Flight attendants working for both of those companies are not part of CUPE's Air Canada component and won't walk off the job. That was confirmed by Air Canada on Tuesday.
However, you will most certainly run into problems if you have a connecting flight to other destinations should they be operated by either Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge if job action happens. Air Canada is giving passengers travelling between Aug. 15 and 18 a chance to , but there are conditions.
If a strike happens, Air Canada is required to rebook passengers onto new flights, including those with other airlines, but there's no guarantee of any seats.
Of course, if both sides come to terms on a new deal before Saturday morning, job action could be called off. There's also the possibility of intervention by the federal government.
Lesosky stated that's what the airline ultimately wants.
"When we stood together, Air Canada didnSA国际影视传媒檛 come to the table in good faith,SA国际影视传媒� he stated. SA国际影视传媒淚nstead, they called on the federal government to step in and take our rights away. Despite the companySA国际影视传媒檚 abhorrent attempts to pre-emptively take away our Charter rights, we remain at the bargaining table, ready to negotiate and avert a shutdown.SA国际影视传媒�
Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Air Canada's chief human resources officer, stated that because both sides are still far apart, the airline is looking at its options, "including a request for government-directed arbitration, to prevent a disruption or at least remove this intolerable uncertainty for our customers."
