Air Canada to gradually resume flights as airline, union reach tentative deal to end strike

send Canada walk out o'er, with tentative sell reached, airline and union say

A tentative agreement has been reached to end the contract dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants, both the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced Tuesday.

CUPE, which represents more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, said that after nine hours of talks with the assistance of the chief mediator appointed by the federal government, the deal struck will be presented to its membership, who will have an opportunity to ratify it.

The union gave few details on the agreement but said it guarantees ground pay for its members — something that's been a major sticking point in talks so far.

Ground pay is compensation for work performed while planes are on the ground, and flight attendants historically haven't been paid for this time spent loading and unloading passengers, or when flights are cancelled or delayed.

Not compensating for ground pay is a common practice in the industry, but some progressive airlines have begun to pay flight attendants for this time in recent years.

CUPE also advised its members to "fully co-operate with resumption of operations."

"[Ground pay] absolutely should be in there, and we're so happy that we finally reached this industry-leading deal that allows our flight attendants to be compensated for the important work ... That they perform on the ground," Nasr said.

"It is a great move for flight attendants right across [the board], because it will set a precedent that at least some of that [ground] work will be covered," Gokhale said.

Still, he said, the "devil is in the details" with this agreement, and the specifics are still unknown at this point.

Nasr said the airline's focus is now on getting planes back in the sky, which Air Canada says will gradually begin this evening.

"We are profoundly sorry for the impact that this disruption has had on all of our customers," Nasr said. "We are committed to doing what's right and taking care of our customers and getting them on their way. And we will not stop until that's done."

Michael Rousseau, the airline's president and chief executive officer, advised customers to be patient as full restoration of service "may require a week or more," but he said that "everyone at Air Canada is doing everything possible to enable them to travel soon."

During the transition to full resumption of service, the airline says it expects that some flights would still be cancelled. Rousseau said the airline would offer options to customers in such a scenario, including a full refund, a credit for future travel and, if space allowed, rebooking on other airlines.

Pearson International Airport, just outside Toronto, advised passengers to check their flight status over the coming days before travelling to terminals and said it has deployed additional staff across the terminals and baggage areas to assist passengers and support the startup operations.

Air Canada operates about 700 flights daily. The airline had estimated on Monday that 500,000 customers would be affected by flight cancellations.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Monday afternoon, Air Canada had called off at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 international flights since last Thursday, when the carrier began gradually suspending its operations ahead of the strike and lockout.

Air Canada cancellations cost frustrated passengers thousands

The strike began early Saturday, but just hours later, the federal government invoked a section in the Canada Labour Code to order binding arbitration through the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). Binding arbitration allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.

CUPE rejected that procedural step by Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and accused Air Canada of anticipating such an intervention and not bargaining in good faith. Labour leaders also objected to the government's repeated use of a law that cuts off workers' right to strike and forces them into arbitration, which Ottawa has also implemented in recent years with workers at ports, railways and elsewhere.

'It was clear' Air Canada, union needed Ottawa to step in on dispute: Jobs minister

The CIRB had characterized the union's defiance of the back-to-work order over the weekend as "unlawful."

On Monday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had been disappointed by the impasse but that it was important that flight attendants were "compensated equitably at all times."

The union served the required 72-hour notice of its intention to strike last Wednesday, after negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement that expired on March 31 had failed to lead to a new pact. It was the first such job action by Air Canada flight attendants since the 1980s.

The union and the airline both agreed to the mediator, William Kaplan, who previously assisted in Canada Post labour negotiations.

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