Air Canada faced a third day of disruptions Monday as more than 10,000 striking flight attendants defied a government order to return to work, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded at the height of summer travel season.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board declared the strike illegal while ordering workers to submit to arbitration yet the Canadian Union of Public Employees maintained that the stoppage would persist until management resolved pay and compensation for unpaid duties such as boarding.
Prime Minister Mark Carney urged both sides to resolve the dispute quickly, warning the strike was damaging travel and the economy. Air Canada suspended its financial guidance for the year as shares slipped about 1%.
Executives warned employees they could be held personally accountable for ignoring the board’s order. “There is no lockout in place, and the continued strike is illegal,” Andrew Yiu, vice president of in-flight service, said in a message to crews.
The cabin staff members want to receive salaries at the same level as Transat employees and they want to get paid for their work on the ground. The board has the authority to impose penalties on both the union and its members according to labor experts which intensifies one of Canada’s major labor disputes of 2024.
