The Canadian federal government swiftly intervened to end a nationwide strike by Air Canada’s flight attendants, which left more than 100,000 travelers stranded worldwide during a busy travel weekend.
Less than 12 hours after the strike began, Canada’s Minister of Labour invoked emergency powers to compel the flight attendants back to work and send the dispute to arbitration. Patty Hajdu, Minister of Labour, explained her actions.
“As Minister of Labour I have exercised my authorities under Section 107 of the Canadian Labor Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the parties to resume and continue their operations and duties in order to secure industrial peace and protect the interests of Canada, Canadians, and the economy,” Hajdu stated.
The strike followed nearly eight months of negotiations between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The disagreement centered on pay and unpaid work that flight attendants perform before flights. The union emphasized that the strike is not about disrupting travel, but about fair compensation.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken, it’s not something we want, we want to be flying, we just want to be compensated fully and fairly for all the hours that we are at work,” Shanyn Elliot, Co-Chair of the Air Canada Airport Workers Mobilization Commission, stated.
While the airline acknowledged the strike’s impact, it stated it was still too early to determine how long it will take to fully resume operations.
