By Associated Press’s ROB GILLIES
AP (Toronto) After striking an agreement with the union for 10,000 flight attendants to halt a strike that affected hundreds of thousands of travelers’ travel plans, Air Canada announced on Tuesday that it will gradually resume operations.
After negotiations between the union and Air Canada restarted late Monday for the first time since the strike started over the weekend, the union first made the announcement of the deal early on Tuesday. At the height of the summer travel season, the strike is impacting over 130,000 passengers per day.
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The biggest airline in Canada announced that flights will begin operating again on Tuesday night. After rejecting the airline’s proposal to participate in government-directed arbitration, which enables a third-party mediator to determine the conditions of a new contract, flight attendants left their jobs early on Saturday.
One of the main reasons that sparked the strike will be resolved, according to the union, as the agreement would ensure that members get paid for work done while planes are on the ground.
The end of unpaid labor. According to a statement from the union, we have taken back our authority and voice. We resisted when our rights were violated and managed to get a provisional deal that our members can vote on.
Restarting a major carrier is a complicated process, and regular service might take seven to ten days, according to CEO Michael Rousseau. Until the schedule is fixed, certain flights will be canceled.
In a statement, Rousseau stated, “We ask for our customers’ patience and understanding over the coming days, as full restoration may take a week or more.”
Early on Tuesday morning, a mediator helped the parties come to an agreement. The airline stated that the union’s commitment to have the company’s 10,000 flight attendants return to work right away was the premise for starting mediation talks. Prior to the conclusion of the ratification process, Air Canada declined to comment further on the deal. It stated that a lockout or strike is not feasible at this time.
After the union disobeyed a second order to return to work, Air Canada earlier announced that rolling cancellations would now last until Tuesday afternoon.
The flight attendants were ordered to return to work after the Canada Industrial Relations Board pronounced the strike unlawful on Monday. However, the union declared that it will disregard the order. A directive to submit to binding arbitration and terminate the strike by Sunday afternoon was also disregarded by union leaders.
The board interprets and enforces Canada’s labor laws as an impartial administrative tribunal. The board was instructed to step in by the government.
The Canadian government’s recurrent use of a legislation that denies workers the right to strike and requires them to arbitrate disputes, which it has done in recent years with workers at ports, railroads, and other locations, drew criticism from labor groups.
In a message on its website, the union stated that your right to vote on your pay was upheld.
Approximately 700 flights are operated daily by Air Canada. On Monday, the airline projected that flight disruptions would impact 500,000 passengers.
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, since last Thursday, when the airline started progressively halting operations in anticipation of the strike and lockout that started early Saturday, Air Canada has canceled at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 foreign flights as of Monday afternoon.
The largest airport in Canada, Pearson International Airport in Toronto, announced plans to hire more employees to help passengers and support startup operations.
According to Air Canada, travelers whose flights are affected can use the airline’s website or mobile app to receive a complete refund.
