Aviation experts say while it’s too early to predict whether Air Canada flight attendants will walk off the job, the overwhelming vote in favour of a strike mandate on Tuesday has strengthened the union’s bargaining power at the table.
The vote — which enables more than 10,000 flight attendants to strike as early as Aug. 16 — makes it harder for Air Canada to dismiss the union’s demands for higher wages and compensation for time not spent in the air, said John Gradek, a faculty lecturer in aviation management at McGill University.
“Air Canada now has to decide what it is that it would like to offer to flight attendants that’s closer to their expectations,” said Gradek, adding that if the airline decides the demands are exorbitant, they will move to prepare for a potential work stoppage by the flight attendants.
How likely is it that flight attendants will go on strike?
Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), told the Star on Tuesday that the union’s goal is not to strike.
“We’re looking for a strike mandate to build pressure to get us a fair contract. It does not mean that we’re going to be issuing a strike notice right away,” said Lesosky.
The airline is expected to resume contract negotiations with the Air Canada CUPE unit on Friday, with key union issues including low starting wages for flight attendants and the lack of pay for work performed while the plane is at the gate before takeoff or during passenger medical emergencies on the ground.
Gradek said the issue of pay for work performed on the ground is not new in the industry, noting that some flight attendants in the U.S. have successfully negotiated with carriers to receive a portion of their salaries for that time.
Asked whether this could pressure Canada to follow suit, Gradek said it depends on “the mood” of Air Canada.
“The pilots have accepted a contract where they don’t get paid until the door closes, and their pay stops when the door opens. So Air Canada might not be very interested and not very keen on doing something along similar lines,” he said.
“But I think that the competitive pressure and the pressure from a 99.7 per cent vote by the body membership is significant enough so that Air Canada can’t walk away from this concept,” Gradek continued.
What should Air Canada customers expect?
If the airline and the union fail to reach an agreement, David Doorey, a professor of work law at York University, said he expects a full shutdown of Air Canada service unless the government intervenes with a back-to-work mandate.
“Recent changes to the Canada Labour Code mean that Air Canada could not use replacement workers to perform the work of striking or locked-out flight attendants. Therefore, I would expect that a work stoppage grounds Air Canada flights,” he said.
Gradek advised passengers with tickets booked after Aug. 16 to hold on to them, noting that if flight attendants go on strike and Air Canada cancels flights, the airline is responsible for rebooking passengers on other carriers.
“But if you want insurance, go and buy a fully refundable ticket on another airline,” and cancel it without cost if a strike does not occur, Gradek said.
