Strike deadline looms for Air Canada flight attendants
Posted Sep 20, 2011 09:38:27 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL – With less than 24 hours to go until strike deadline, negotiations between Air Canada and its flight attendants have broken off.
In a statement, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said talks abruptly ended when a spokesperson for Air Canada used an expletive to describe the efforts of the federal mediator and the union representative.
The union added that it hopes to start talks “on a better foot” as early as Tuesday morning.
Flight attendants have threatened to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning if their demands aren’t met.
CUPE said the attendants will hold rallies in cities across the country Tuesday starting at 10 a.m., including here in the capital on Parliament Hill.
Air Canada has yet to disclose its contingency plans in the event of a strike, but did say it would operate a partial schedule with the help of its codeshare partners. Jazz will also continue to operate regional connector service for Air Canada since its flight attendants operate under a separate contract.
The airline is allowing travellers who are to booked to fly over the next six days to change their flights free of charge to a later date, subject to availability.
About three months ago, a deal was reached between the airline and its service personnel at the last minute, as back to work legislation was introduced by the government.
