The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) has declared the Air Canada flight attendants’ strike unlawful, after the union challenged a federal mandate to return to work resulting in 500,000 customers’ flights being cancelled.
On Monday, Air Canada announced the board’s decision after a court hearing over the weekend, which resulted in the board calling on the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) to stop the strike and direct its members to return to work immediately.
“Following a hearing on August 17, the CIRB declared that CUPE’s strike is unlawful. It ordered the union leadership, which authorized the strike, to immediately tell its members to end the work stoppage. It also directed individual members of the union to cease all unlawful activities and return to work,” Air Canada wrote in a statement.
Nevertheless, CUPE leaders told reporters that the union will not back down, even if that means paying fines or being arrested.
“We will not turn our back on these workers, we will not turn our back on these members,” CUPE National President Mark Hancock said at a press conference on Monday.
“There is no limit. We’re gonna stay strong. We’re gonna stay committed to making sure those workers can do the job that they love doing and be able to afford a roof over their heads, to afford caring for their families, and if it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it.”
Last week, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 Air Canada and Rouge flight attendants, issued a strike notice, urging the airline to increase wages, pay workers for their whole time on the job, and improve work rules.
On Saturday shortly before 1 a.m., flight attendants officially walked off the job, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations over the weekend, and leaving thousands of customers stranded across the country.
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Less than 12 hours into the strike, Air Canada announced that it would reinstate its suspended flights after the CIRB ordered the workers to return to work as of 2 p.m. on Sunday.
However, soon after, CUPE announced it would be challenging the decision in court, refusing to stop the strike.
“We will continue to fight on the picket lines, on the streets, at the bargaining table, in the courts, and in Parliament, until the injustice of unpaid work is done for good. Workers will win – despite the best effort of the Liberal government and their corporate friends,” CUPE National President Mark Hancock said in a statement.
But with CIRB calling the strike unlawful, workers can be once again ordered to go back to their regular activities, and flights could be restarted.
“Air Canada’s intended restart of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, which have been grounded since August 16 by CUPE’s labour disruption, was prevented on August 17 by the CUPE leadership’s unlawful strike activities,” Air Canada said in a statement on Monday.
After the decision, Ontario’s NDP Leader Marit Stiles published an open letter on X to Ontario Premier Doug Ford urging him to ask Prime Minister Mark Carney to reverse the decision, as the two prepare to meet in Ottawa later today.
“This intervention strips thousands of workers of their Charter-protected right to strike, and sets a dangerous precedent for labour relations in Canada. It rewards Air Canada’s refusal to negotiate fairly and undermines the collective bargaining rights of every worker in this country,” she said.
Speaking with reporters in Ottawa on Monday, Carney said the union and the airline have come to an “impasse,” urging both parties to work towards an agreement.
“We recognize very much the critical role that flight attendants play in keeping Canadians and their families safe as they travel [and] comfortable as they travel. It’s important that [flight attendants] are compensated equitably at all times, fairly at all times,” he said.
“We are in a situation where literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are being disrupted by this action. I urge both parties to resolve this as quickly as possible,” he added.
500,000 CUSTOMERS AFFECTED
According to the airline, more than 500,000 customers have had their flights cancelled at this time.
In a statement on Sunday, Air Canada said that it was offering accommodations to affected travellers, including issuing full refunds, credit for future trips, and even assisting customers in rebooking flights with other carriers.
“Customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified and are strongly advised not to go [to] the airport unless they have confirmed flights on other airlines,” it wrote.
In the same statement, the airline also announced plans to resume flights as of Monday evening.
Now Toronto reached out to CUPE for a comment but didn’t receive a response by the time of publication.
