Air Canada flight attendants are defying a federal back-to-work order, prolonging a strike that has already stranded tens of thousands of passengers and creating a direct clash between union power and government authority.
Air Canada Operations Still In Turmoil As Flight Attendants Refuse To Return To Work
The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) directed flight attendants to immediately resume duties after Labour Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to impose binding arbitration. But CUPE, the union representing 10,000 cabin crew, has vowed to continue striking, calling the order unconstitutional.
“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,” Hajdu said when announcing the intervention.
But on Sunday, CUPE President Mark Hancock tore up the CIRB order in front of members at Toronto Pearson, declaring that the government had overstepped its bounds.
“We are saying no. This order takes away our members’ democratic right to vote on their contract and enshrines the exploitation of unpaid work. We will not comply.”
The strike began when contract talks collapsed over inflationary wage increases and compensation for ground duties like boarding and deplaning, which flight attendants argue remain unpaid. Air Canada had offered what it described as a 38% increase over four years, which it said would make its flight attendants the best compensated in Canada. CUPE rejected that offer, calling it below inflation and below industry standards.
Air Canada condemned the defiance and said it would work with the government to enforce the CIRB order.
“We regret the impact this disruption has on our customers and communities, but the union’s refusal to comply with a lawful order is unacceptable. We are ready to resume full service as soon as crews return.”
The Legal Framework Ahead
Legally, CUPE has filed a challenge in Federal Court, arguing the order violates collective bargaining rights protected under the Charter. However, under Canadian law, filing an appeal does not suspend the obligation to comply. The CIRB has limited discretion once directed by the minister, and only the courts can overturn such an order. That process, through the Federal Court and potentially the Federal Court of Appeal, could take months or even years.
Not to go too deep into the weeds (and I am not an expert in Canadian labor law), but as I understand it, CIRB has stated it has no authority to challenge the validity of ministerial directives issued under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. This means that once the Minister of Labour issues a directive under Section 107, the CIRB considers itself obligated to implement it, even if the directives raise important questions about labor law or collective bargaining rights, as protected by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This was at the heart of the 2024 railway dispute (the CN/CPKC case).
In the meantime, Air Canada has postponed restarting flights until at least Monday evening. Even if attendants return, the airline has warned that it may take up to a week to stabilize its schedule.
CONCLUSION
CUPE’s refusal to comply with the CIRB has set up a legal and practical test of Ottawa’s authority. While the courts may ultimately decide whether the order is constitutional, passengers remain caught in the middle, facing uncertainty until operations resume.
I’m drawn back to the pandemic, when truck drivers descended upon Ottawa and blocked US-Canadian border checkpoints to protest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vaccine mandate. Invoking the Emergencies Act, government officials froze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts and compelled tow truck companies to haul away vehicles. Will the Carney government now argue it must also use heavy-handed tactics to get striking Air Canada flight attendants back to work?
image: @OFLabor / X
Some studies show flying is 200x safer than driving. This strike will cause unnecessary death. I call on the Canadian government to protect citizens and force them back to work or jail. Recall the truck drivers who refused the vax that didn’t work had their bank accounts frozen? They sat alone in a truck—much less harm than these FAs are causing.
Arrest the flight attendants and throw them in jail.
Really? Is that, like, really your solution to labor strife? Arrest and fire the workers? How does that help? What does that even mean? Or is it just provocative bullsh** because you think it sounds funny / simple?
There are few human rights a worker has other than to withdraw their labor. Yes, they will also face consequences for that.
But the idea of arresting and firing them is grotesque and frankly idiotic (not to mention impossible – if you fire them, they are not workers and therefore unable to return to work. Then they can’t be arrested for being on strike because they’re not workers).
Every day, I despair more for the future.
Really? Seems simple to me. A judge ordered them back to work, what they are currently doing is illegal.
They actually don’t have a right to withdraw their labor in the face of a judicial order telling them to go back to work.
They do have a right to quit, which they have not. Short of that, throw their law breaking selves in jail.
I don’t follow what you’re saying, Cy. How could you jail someone for refusing to work? What law would they be breaking? Unless I’m wrong, Canada doesn’t have any laws that require people to work against their will.
Jerry…i’m no expert in Canadian law, but what i’m reading is that the CIRB ( a canadian gov agency) ordered flight attendants to end the strike and resume work with binding arbitration coming…the flight attendants have refused and thus are in violation of the law. To your point, they don’t have to work, they can quit. But striking (as they are doing now) and continuing the strike is illegal.
That is my (admittedly) basic understanding.
Sorry mate, CIRB is not a judge, its just a regulatory tribunal so I don’t know what you’re on about…
not sure you are correct….this was form ten seconds of googling.
Until recently, Section 107 was a relatively unknown piece of legislation. But last year, the Liberal government invoked it in several major disputes — sending unionized employees back to work at ports, rail yards and Canada Post.
“The penalties could be significant” for the union, labour law expert Adam King told CBC News in an interview.
Defying a legal back-to-work order could result in fines for the union or workers being fired. It could also lead to criminal prosecution in some cases.
In 1978, members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers were ordered back to work during a national strike. Jean-Claude Parrot, the union’s president at the time, defied that order, with workers staying on the picket lines for a week after it was issued. Parrot was jailed for two months for refusing to comply.
Thats the solution to breaking the law.
Make them Essential Workers like Police Fire EMS. Pay them more. Or, pay them for all hours worked. If a flight is delayed 3 hrs? And the duty day is ten hrs flight only? AC have employee’s still on duty until the tenth hour and not earning their wage. Unless delay pay is included in contract language.
I don’t disagree, but why act like this was a bait and switch? This is what the union negotiated to protect senior FAs at the expense of junior FAs. This is on the union.
Yes, the union did a crappy job, but times and the economic situation has changed! fair pay for all FAs.
Given the Canadian government wants to get involved in the business of protecting certain businesses,why not add for good measure a cost savings mandate for crews to scrub and vacuum airplanes before departure?
Good for the flight attendants!! Shock of shock a left wing government employing fascist type tactics. It proved the point that the difference between Hitler and Stalin was the length of the moustache!!
On the Canadian political scope, the LPC/PLC, is not left wing.
It’s Center right.
Offer a legal incentive for those that wish to work.
Canada is not like America. They are a bunch if bullies and jerks who hate America and rip off fellow Canadians. It is not a democracy but pretends to be.
The strikers should be fined $100/day and bank accounts frozen, not put in prison.
As far as negotiations, there should be boarding time pay. If that means a reduction in pay per hour but slight increase in overall pay, that is likely to be fair.
Oh, in Canada, people are so dishonest that the airline checks your ID as you board so you won’t sell your ticket to someone else.
Says the fragile, no good American.
Break up Air Canada. No airline should control more than half of traffic between any two major cities.
Astonished how the AC FA’s stranded in foreign countries because they striked are begging for help on social media to get home in jumpseats- or by Go fund me etc. Talk about NOT reading the room. Tens of thousands of passengers are stranded because of them and they are asking for sympathy because they are stuck in hotel rooms in Frankfurt (which AC is paying for) while their passengers are left to pay thousands to get home. I hope they all get what’s coming to them for their clueless shenanigans…a ticket to the unemployment line.
Yup, it’s difficult to imagine them getting even the tiniest shred of public sympathy by whining about being “trapped” in a paid London, Paris, or Sydney hotel room while their union slugs it out with AC and the Canadian government. Buy yourselves a one way ticket home in economy class, you cheap bastards. Or maybe hit the union up for the price of a ticket. Either way, it’s not our problem.
Arrest all Republicans and send them to El Salvador.
If I dont go to work, my boss will fire me. Fire the flight attendants who refuse to go to work. Start now by hiring replacements and putting them through an accelerated program. Use these new hires to permanently operate these flights. It will be a longer shutdown (maybe a few weeks) but this could ho on forever at this state. A few weeks is better than forever.
I hope you don’t work in business, the short sightedness of this comment is insane. It will take a lot longer than a few weeks to train 10,000 flight attendants, also you assume that the new flight attendants won’t join a union?
ALL 10,000….yes, of course but they dont need to have ALL 10K trained before resuming flights. They can probably do 750-1000 pretty quickly allowing then to get core routes up and running then keep clicking through the classes and het the rest through. As it stands now, this could go on in perpetuity. This provides an ending.
Is would take almost 3 months to train just 750-1000.
I hope your next 4hr non stop is served with fresh face new hire on her/his day two of three day trip. Be kind
That would be fine with me. The service will probably be a hell of a lot better.
Good to finally see some canadians standing up for themselves, as opposed to the way they capitulated to the jab and lockdowns. May lord have mercy and prevent the imbeciles in office from freezing their bank accounts
Ironically hajdu was the health minister that oversaw the heavy handed covid lockdowns too.
That’s an interesting link.
They’re a crappy airline. I’d hate to both fly for them or work for them. Let the strike go on forever so they can go out of business.