The Canadian government has moved to end the Air Canada flight attendants’ strike, invoking its authority to force binding arbitration after thousands of cabin crew members walked off the job on Saturday.

Canadian Government Moves To End Air Canada Strike, Force Binding Arbitration On Flight Attendants

Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Jobs and Families, announced that she had asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order an immediate end to the strike and require both sides to resolve their differences through arbitration.

“This is not a decision that I’ve taken lightly, but the potential for immediate negative impact on Canadians and our economy is simply too great.”

The strike began when negotiations broke down between Air Canada and its 10,000 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The walkout led to the cancellation of nearly all of Air Canada’s 700 daily flights, stranding more than 100,000 passengers at the peak of the summer travel season.

At the center of the dispute is beating inflation and compensation for ground-based duties, such as boarding and deplaning, which are currently unpaid. CUPE rejected Air Canada’s most recent offer, which the carrier said would raise overall compensation by 38% over four years.

Air Canada welcomed the government’s intervention and said it would work quickly to resume normal operations. The airline estimated it could take four to five days before schedules fully recover once crews are ordered back to work.

Businesses applauded the move, citing the strike’s impact on travel, cargo, and the broader economy. The union, however, criticized the decision, contending that binding arbitration weakens its bargaining power and unfairly tilts the process toward the airline.

Passengers are advised not to head to airports unless they have confirmed travel plans. Air Canada is offering refunds or rebooking options, though availability remains limited until flights are restored. Several Live And Let’s Fly readers have shared of their frustration of being stranded without options.

The Heart Of The Battle Between Air Canada And Its Cabin Crew

As you might imagine, both sides come at this issue from a very different angle. Let’s look at statements from both sides, as they seek to spin the narrative in their favor.

Union: End The Historic Abuse Of Unpaid Work

CUPE union president Wesley Lesosky claims that flight attendants make poverty wages and have been abused by Air Canada for too long:

After nine months of the company delaying at the bargaining table on the fundamental issues – unpaid work and poverty wages – the union asked for and received an unprecedented 99.7% strike mandate from its membership. Flight attendants turned out by the hundreds at airports across the country for a powerful showing of solidarity for their August 11 Day of Action.

Air Canada has seen how determined and united flight attendants are to end unpaid work and win a real cost-of-living increase to wages.

Now, Air Canada has decided they no longer want to negotiate. They want to go to arbitration, rather than stay at the bargaining table and bargain a new contract.

Everyone knows the best deals are negotiated at the bargaining table, not handed down by an outside third-party. Then why does Air Canada want the union to agree to arbitration?

First, arbitrators rely on precedent and the status quo to make their determinations. But Air Canada flight attendants are trying to break the status quo by ending the historic abuse of unpaid work in this industry. Air Canada wants an arbitrator to do their dirty work for them to keep the status quo intact.

Second, an arbitrator’s determination would be final. Members would not get a chance to vote on it. Air Canada wants to go to arbitration because they want to take away our members’ democratic voice.

The union has declined the company’s proposal to preserve the exploitative status quo and take away our members’ voice.

The Air Canada Component of CUPE remains at the bargaining table, ready to negotiate.

We have always been available to negotiate. The union was available to continue discussions while it sought a strike mandate – the company never reached out.

Citing profits from Air Canada, the union says junior flight attendants would still make below federal minimum wage under Air Canada’s latest proposal:

Meanwhile, on wages, Air Canada’s offer is below market value, below inflation, and below minimum wage.

1. Air Canada has offered 8% in the first year as a one-time catch-up. Meanwhile, flight attendants have taken a 9% cut to their real wages due to inflation over the course of their last contract since 2015. This offer does not even keep up with inflation – it is, in effect, a pay cut. Air Canada’s offer is below inflation.
2. Air Canada is using misleading “kitchen-sink” figures to make the public believe that flight attendants who rely on food banks and second and third jobs are the ones being greedy. In reality, the company has offered a 17.2% wage increase over four years. Even in year four of Air Canada’s offer, in 2028, Air Canada flight attendants would earn less than competitor airlines in Canada earn today. Air Canada’s offer is below market value.
3. Even with the “best offer” that Air Canada can make, an entry-level Air Canada flight attendant working full-time will still earn less than federal minimum wage. Junior Air Canada flight attendants working full-time (75 credit hours per month) currently earn $1,952 per month pre-taxes. With Air Canada’s first-year catch-up increase of 8%, their earnings would increase to $2,108.16 per month. Meanwhile, a worker earning federal minimum wage at $17.75 per hour would earn $2,840.00 per month pre-taxes. Air Canada’s offer is below minimum wage.

Air Canada has posted billions in profits in recent years. They can afford to pay flight attendants fairly without raising costs for the public.

In 2024, Air Canada reported a profit of $1.1 billion USD, with an operating margin of 5.7%.

Air Canada: Disappointing Conduct Of Union Puts Canadian Economy At Risk

Meanwhile, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau blames the union for negotiating in good faith:

We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve. However, the disappointing conduct of CUPE’s negotiators and the union’s stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada’s and Air Canada Rouge’s operations through a lockout. As we have seen elsewhere in our industry with other labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, such as we are now at risk of through a strike, can create chaos for travellers that is far, far worse.

Our latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years that would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada, along with provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements. At the same time, we asked for no concessions from the union. Given this, while we remain available for discussions with CUPE, we have requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travellers, business and the Canadian economy.

The government’s push for mandatory arbitration hands Air Canada a huge win.

CONCLUSION

Ottawa’s decision to impose binding arbitration is intended to bring an immediate end to a disruptive strike, but the underlying dispute over pay and working conditions remains unresolved. How the arbitration panel rules will shape the future of Air Canada’s labor relations in the months and years ahead. The latest news is a victory for Air Canada, but there’s still a long way to go before normal operations resume and a new deal is imposed on flight attendants.

image: Air Canada