The clock is ticking down to a potential strike by Air Canada flight attendants and lockout by the airline as Canada’s jobs minister awaits a response from the union on a request for binding arbitration.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Air Canada component asked to have until noon eastern Friday to respond to the airline’s request to the federal government for binding arbitration.
In an X post on Thursday, Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu said she had agreed to the union’s request, but stressed that “deals that are made at the bargaining table are the best ones,” while urging both sides to reach an agreement.
Both sides are less than 24 hours away from possible job action, with each having called on the other to return to negotiations.
Air Canada executives defended their decision Thursday to request binding arbitration, saying they still want to reach a deal, but asked the government to consider intervening if negotiations or “consensual arbitration” do not occur.
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The union, however, criticized the airline’s move, saying it has called on the federal government to “interfere with negotiations.”
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The looming strike also comes just as Canada Post was set to restart talks with its postal workers, also using federal mediators.
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The Crown corporation said Friday that talks set for that day and Monday had been postponed to next Wednesday due to mediators being unavailable.
In a statement announcing the postponement, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said the Air Canada negotiations were having an impact.
“The Federal mediators will not be able to assist CUPW and CPC due to their current involvement in the Air Canada negotiations,” the union wrote.
With the strike and lockout getting closer, business groups have raised concerns about how much impact such job action could have on the country.
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The Toronto Region Board of Trade said Friday that a complete shut down of Canada’s largest airline would have “broad-reaching economic consequences.”
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“A disruptive work stoppage is occurring at precisely the moment when Canada is urgently seeking to reboot our economy and enhance our competitive position against mounting trade pressures,” Board of Trade chief executive Giles Gherson said in a statement.
“The economic stakes are higher than ever. Any slow down creates delay we cannot afford.”
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The Canadian Federation of Independent Business also sounded the alarm, telling The Canadian Press one-third of small business depend on the summer tourism season for their revenues and members “cannot afford to lose a single day.”
With the clock ticking down, the airline has already begun cancelling hundreds of flights.
Air Canada chief operations officer Mark Nasr told reporters on Thursday that by the end of Friday, he expects 500 flights to have been cancelled, with a full grounding as of early Saturday morning.
He said the cancellations before a strike or lockout has even begun are because “sudden or unmanaged work stoppages produce a significantly worse disruption to travel than a planned suspension of flying.”
Nasr added that cancelling over several days would allow for an “orderly restart” when job action ends, “which under the best circumstance will take a full week to complete.”
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According to the airline, about 130,000 travellers a day could be impacted during a strike.
Those impacted by cancellations have been advised they’ll receive a text message and email advising them of their cancellation. They will then be offered a complete refund or the option of potentially being booked on another airline to complete their trip.
Air Canada said if a person cannot be rebooked, they will receive a refund.
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