With less than an hour to go until a deadline to sent its members at Air Canada back to work, there’s still no word from the Canadian Union of Public Employees on whether it will comply with an order to end what’s officially been declared an illegal strike.
The ruling came from the Canada Industrial Relations Board over the weekend after CUPE said it would continue the strike despite being ordered back on the job following a request to the CIRB from federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu.
“The members of the union’s bargaining unit are directed to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,” CIRB vice-chairperson Jennifer Webster wrote in the decision.
The ruling gave CUPE until noon Monday to order its members to comply with the decision, but as of 11 a.m., there was still no official word from the union.
Air Canada’s flight attendants went on strike on Saturday but were ordered back to work after federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Labour Code to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to send the two sides to binding arbitration and order an end to the job action.
Neither CUPE nor Air Canada replied to requests for comment.
Picketers continued to march around the Terminal 1 departure doors at Toronto Pearson airport early Monday morning.
Chants reverberated through the sliding doors and into the airport terminal, where passengers approached Air Canada employees to ask about alternatives to their cancelled flights.
Air Canada had intended to restart flights on Sunday, but were prevented by the union’s decision to continue its strike despite the CIRB order. The airline estimated Monday that some 500,000 customers’ flights have been cancelled as a result.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s disappointed Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants weren’t able to reach a deal after eight months of negotiations.
He is urging both sides to quickly resolve the situation that is causing major travel chaos for Canadian and international travellers.
With files from Star wire services
