Air Canada suspends restart plans after union defies return to work order
Air Canada has suspended its plans to restart operations on Sunday, throwing thousands of travelers into uncertainty during the critical summer travel season.
On Sunday the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) defiantly declared it would not comply with a return-to-work order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
The ongoing strike has already impacted approximately 130,000 travelers daily, with the airline typically operating around 700 flights per day. What began as a labor dispute has now escalated into a full-blown confrontation between the airline and its flight attendants’ union.
CUPE National President Mark Hancock remained resolute outside Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, stating emphatically, “Our members are not going back to work. We are saying no.” The union argues that the entire negotiation process has been fundamentally unfair, with plans to challenge what they call an unconstitutional order.
The airline has now pushed back its restart to Monday evening, accusing the union of illegally directing its members to defy the industrial relations board’s directive. In a statement, the company emphasized that the first flights would now resume later, with a potential seven to ten-day period of disrupted schedules.
