Just under 12 hours after Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job, seeking better wages, the government imposed binding arbitration to shut down the strike and avert mounting travel chaos.
Earlier in the week, Air Canada had asked the government to force the union to enter arbitration. Government-mandated arbitration, however, is normally used to end long and disruptive walkouts. Arbitrators also rarely introduce major new changes — like groundwork compensation — in contracts they impose.
Though short, the strike had already created difficulties, both for those trying to reach some of the 65 foreign countries Air Canada flies to, and for domestic travelers, since the country’s vastness often makes flying the only viable form of travel. The airline said it had canceled 700 flights, expected to affect about 130,000 passengers daily.
“Canadians rely on air travel every day, and its importance cannot be understated,” Patty Hajdu, the labor minister in the Liberal government, told reporters. “Now is not the time to take risks with the economy.”
The flight attendants, 70 percent of whom are women, are seeking improved compensation, particularly for the hours they are working but not airborne. Currently, Air Canada flight attendants are paid an hourly wage only once the plane has taken off and only until the flight lands, a formula they say is unfair. In recent years, some major U.S. airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, have changed this remuneration policy.