A trip to the airport often comes with some stress to make the flight on time and the amount of waiting you have to do before getting through security. However, in Canada, the stress went a bit further. At this airport, 10.000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike. However, 12 hours into the strike, the government tried to order the workers to resume work. But the reaction of the union was not what the Federal Jobs Minister expected. Keep on reading to discover more about it.
Flight Attendants Defy Government Order
Earlier this weekend, over 10.000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike. It started Saturday at around 1 a.m. EDT, and immediately caused chaos for Air Canada and its passengers. Thousands of people were left stranded, and hundreds of flights were cancelled due to the lack of flight attendants.
The main reason for the strike? The Flight attendants are currently only getting paid when the planes are moving. This means that as long as they’re not in the air, but are still welcoming guests and helping people, they’re doing it unpaid. Air Canada offered a 38% compensation increase that will be reached over 4 years; however, the Union rejected the offer.
12 hours after the start of the strike, the Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu tried to intervene by ordering binding arbitration. However, Union president Mark Hancock said “Our members are not going back to work”, and continued the strike at least until Monday evening. This is the first time a union has openly defied a government order. The Canadian. Union of Public Employees stated that the order was “blatantly unconstitutional” and is planning to challenge it in court.
Over 130.000 passengers are delayed
The strike hits Air Canada in the middle of peak travel season, causing over 700 daily flights to be grounded. Over 130.000 people’s trips were delayed, and they were left stranded with no real solution in sight.
Featured image credit: CBS News
