Air Canada Flight Attendants Begin Strike Vote
by Marsha Mowers
Air Canada Flight Attendants have started voting on whether or not to strike, in a process that will continue until August 5.
A spokesperson for the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) told Global News, “The vote will be open from July 28 to August 5 and will give CUPE’s 10,000 members at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge an opportunity to give their union a strong mandate to negotiate a new contract.”
The union is fighting to resolve key issues which include but are not limited to: Pay; Unpaid work; Per diems; Pension; Work rules; and Prone rest. A conciliation process with the assistance of federally appointed mediators had ended without a tentative agreement last week, leaving the union and its 10,000 flight attendants in a legal strike position.
In the statement on Friday to Global News, Air Canada acknowledged the vote was “a normal step in the negotiation process and does not mean that any disruption will take place. In fact, a strike cannot take place before a 21-day cooling-off period, after the 60-day conciliation period has expired.”
