Air Canada flight attendants have voted against the airline’s recent wage offer after several days of voting, according to their union.
The tentative agreement included a 12 percent salary hike for most junior flight attendants and an 8 percent increase for more senior members. Smaller raises in subsequent years were also on offer.
The union representing the flight attendants, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), said that 99 percent of the flight attendants voted against the deal. It also noted the vote had a record turnout of 99.4 percent.
However, CUPE said that flight attendants obtained “partial pay” for ground duties during this round of bargaining—something the union says was “important progress” to end unpaid work.
“Air Canada and CUPE contemplated this potential outcome and mutually agreed that if the tentative agreement was not ratified, the wage portion would be referred to mediation and, if no agreement was reached at that stage, to arbitration,” it said.
Air Canada also said that both sides agreed there would be no labour disruption and flights would continue to operate.
It added that it was “fully committed” to mediation and arbitration.
About 10,000 flight attendants went on strike on Aug. 16 after contract talks between the union and the airline broke down.
The biggest issues were wages and unpaid work, the union said at the time.
An estimated 500,000 travellers were impacted by the strike, after the airline was forced to cancel flights.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said she was invoking Section 107 of the Labour Code on Aug. 16, asking the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to intervene.
CIRB ordered the flight attendants back to work by Aug. 17, saying the current agreement terms would remain until a new one was signed.
CUPE defied the back-to-work order, calling it unconstitutional.
