Brushing off the threat of fines and jail time, the defiant head of the union representing striking Air Canada flight attendants refused to order his members back to work after the strike was officially declared illegal.
In a press conference shortly after a noon deadline to order his members to get back to work, Mark Hancock, the national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said he’ll do nothing of the sort.
“There’s no limit. We’re going to stay strong,” said Hancock. “If it means folks like me going to jail, so be it. If it means our union being fined, so be it.”
Despite suggestions from the airline that flights would be operating soon, Hancock dismissed the idea.
“If Air Canada thinks flights will be operating this afternoon, they’re sorely mistaken,” Hancock said.
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, which came at the same time as an order for the two sides to engage in binding arbitration.
There’s no doubt CUPE is risking significant fines for the union, and potential jail time for its leaders, said David J. Doorey, a professor of labour law at York University’s Osgoode Hall law school.
“The most likely consequence for continued non-compliance is fines, which can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Doorey, adding that once the CIRB order is filed with a court, it becomes a court ordering, meaning continued non-compliance could result in a contempt of court charge.
And, Doorey added, Air Canada could come after the union for costs associated with continued flight cancellations.
“In theory, Air Canada could sue CUPE for damages for lost revenues due to the … now-unlawful strike,” said Doorey.
Defying an official back-to-work order might seem like an extreme step, but it’s the type of thing which happens when one side believes the system is stacked against them, said McMaster University labour studies professor Stephanie Ross.
“This is the natural result of the repeated use of Section 107,” said Ross. “As soon as workers have some power to actually move their employers, the government steps in.”
When a system seems to be working against them, said Ross, unions will feel less of an obligation to play by the rules.
“It’s training the labour movement to see the government will always intervene on the side of the employer. It’s corrosive of trust in the system,” said Ross, adding that other unions may follow suit. “We can expect more forms of militancy that go outside the legally prescribed forms of labour action.”
Meanwhile, data compiled by Cirium, an air industry data firm, showed that Air Canada has already cancelled more than 500 flights scheduled for Monday, including 291 domestic flights and 287 international ones.
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.
Air Canada didn’t immediately reply 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
