Air Canada and Striking Flight Attendants’ Union Reach Tentative Deal

Canada|Air Canada and Striking Flight Attendants’ Union Reach Tentative Deal

The union that represents about 10,000 striking Air Canada flight attendants said in a message to its members early Tuesday morning that it had reached a tentative contract deal with the airline, raising hopes for a swift end to the walkout that has disrupted air travel across Canada and stranded thousands of travelers.

The agreement, while a significant step, must still be approved by the flight attendants, who overwhelmingly supported the strike that began on Saturday and defied a back-to-work order from the government, risking fines and even jail time. Air Canada, the nation’s biggest carrier, said the walkout had upended about half a million travelers’ plans, leaving some marooned overseas or in remote parts of Canada.

In its note, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said that the deal was reached at 4:23 a.m. Eastern time after about nine hours of talks and the assistance of a mediator.

“We must fully cooperate with the resumption of operations,” the message said.

Air Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Talks between the sides had resumed on Monday evening. No details of the deal were immediately available, but the union had two major objectives that had led to the collapse of negotiations before the walkout.

The union had demanded that Air Canada follow the lead of some U.S. airlines by paying attendants for work that they do before takeoff and after landing, like boarding passengers and carrying out safety checks. Currently, like many airlines, Air Canada pays flight attendants only for work done while the plane’s doors are closed.

“Unpaid work is over,” the union said in the statement, which described the contract as bringing “transformational change for our industry.” It did not elaborate further.

Before the strike began, the union had said that Air Canada had accepted the principle of paying for work done on the ground, but was offering only half pay for it. The airline had confirmed that it was willing to pay attendants for ground time, but it did not indicate a rate.

The union also wanted broader wage increases. It said Air Canada was offering to boost wages by 17.2 percent over four years, an amount that the union said would not make up for losses from inflation.

Air Canada did not disclose how much it had offered to raise flight attendants’ hourly pay over the life of any new contract, but it said wages would rise by 8 percent in the first year. Under its offer, the airline said, about 20 percent of flight attendants would make more than 90,000 Canadian dollars, about $65,000, a year. That figure was to include some form of pay for work done on the ground.

On Saturday, less than 12 hours after the strike began, the Canadian government directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose a contract through binding arbitration. Air Canada had sought arbitration twice before the strike began; the union resisted, noting that such settlements rarely address fundamental issues like whether flight attendants should be paid for on-the-ground work.

The union rejected a back-to-work order from the labor board on Sunday, and it remained defiant on Monday after the board ruled the strike illegal, raising the possibility of fines or jail time for the union’s members and leadership.

The union argued that forced arbitration violated its members’ constitutional right to strike, asking the Federal Court of Canada to issue an injunction against the orders while the union challenged them.

The reason Air Canada restarted talks with the union was not immediately clear. But on Monday, Patty Hajdu, the labor minister, said that she had started an investigation into the issue of unpaid work by flight attendants while the plane was on the ground. In an interview with CBC News, she called the issue “deeply disturbing.”