Air Canada flight attendants said on Sunday they will remain on strike and challenge a return-to-work order they called unconstitutional, defying a government decision to force them back to their duties by 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
Air Canada had said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening, a day after the Canadian government issued a directive to end a cabin crew strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily flights, stranding more than 100,000 passengers.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement that members would remain on strike and invited Air Canada back to the table to "negotiate a fair deal."
29 Comments
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works · 88 pts · 358d
Rhaedas@fedia.io · 66 pts · 358d
Damn right. Work on the clock, or pay them a decent salary that covers all bases. The company using a non-moving plane as some excuse is ludicrous. If you're losing money for that regularly, then raise the ticket prices to cover costs incurred. They always go after the labor first to save money, which is asinine because it's the labor that keeps things going.
SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · 71 pts · 358d
If an employee is important enough to have to be legislated back to work then they are important enough to be guaranteed a living wage.
truthfultemporarily@feddit.org · 35 pts · 358d
This is apparently the case in the whole industry and its ridiculous.
gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 358d
It's not a criminal conspiracy, it's a longstanding commonly accepted industry practice, completely different things! /s
ramble81@lemmy.zip · 24 pts · 358d
I said this in another thread but could you imagine if call center workers were only paid when they’re actually on the phone? That would be ludicrous.
SARGE@startrek.website · 24 pts · 358d
Rhaedas@fedia.io · 15 pts · 358d
Be sure to save the red stapler.
chosensilence@pawb.social · 78 pts · 358d
solidarity to all
Tm12@lemmy.ca · 58 pts · 358d
"To legislate us back to work 12 hours after we started? I'm sorry, snowstorms have shut down Air Canada for longer than we were allowed to strike." 😂😂😂
CBC article
SARGE@startrek.website · 37 pts · 358d
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works · 30 pts · 358d
I don't understand how a government can tell workers to go back to work. Like, if Air Canada is unhappy with their employees, they should fire them and rehire. And spend all the time and money it requires to retrain them. Oh wait, that's not feasible across the whole industry? Guess you better pay these talented professionals what they are worth, then.
Like, how can workers refusing to work possibly be illegal? It's insane. Even if the argument is that not working went against some kind of work contract they have, that should be a civil issue not a legal one.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 8 pts · 357d
Look at what Reagan did to the Air Traffic Controllers union to see what an unscrupulous conservative could do to striking workers if they wanted to. Though I'm sure Canada is different so hopefully it's not possible there.
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 357d
The US is still feeling the consequences of that.
yeather@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 357d
Reagan at least realized he fucked up and was forced to rehire a bunch of the controllers. It’s also different since controllers are federal government employees who were not legally allowed to strike in the first place.
vithigar@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 357d
Back to work legislation ostensibly exists for situations where a strike compromises public safety or well-being. Healthcare workers or power plant operators or what have you.
You could argue that even this is too far and the employers involved should be the ones on the hook to do whatever is necessary to get things running, but the ad absurdum argument there is that it would effectively mean those employees have infinite bargaining power.
It definitely gets misapplied though, and this is certainly one such case.
andyburke@fedia.io · 32 pts · 358d
Stay strong. If you don't, you will end up like us southern neighbors.
iamdefinitelyoverthirteen@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 357d
Yeah, fight harder than we did, and don't bitch about a flawed candidate because they're imperfect like we did.
NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 358d
Get fucked Canadian government. This doesn't involve you...I cant fucking stand when governments think they can legislate a strike and tell people they have to go back to work or else.
If a company wants to end a strike, they can pay their workers a livable wage, with proper vacation and sick pay. Its not that hard.
ramble81@lemmy.zip · 15 pts · 358d
This move makes me happy. I was hoping they wouldn’t just suck it up and cave.
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de · 13 pts · 358d
Yeah uuuuhhh thats the problem you see, the whole point of a strike is create pressure...
thisorthatorwhatever@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 358d
Nationalize it.
HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works · 15 pts · 358d
It used be owned by the government. They sold it in 1988.
Tm12@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 358d
Which Government? Safe to assume Mulroney?
threeonefour@piefed.ca · 9 pts · 358d
Mulroney and the Progressive Conservatives lead the government from 1984 to 1993. So, yup! Fun fact, Mulroney was also accused of accepting $300,000 from the chairman of Airbus in exchange for awarding Airbus an Air Canada contract for 34 planes before it was privatized.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 358d
Moving it back to a gov job would benefit the safety officers ('cabin crew', if you want to minimize their importance) greatly: there's no WAY they would be required to work without pay, in modern times, like they are now.
allen@rail.chat · 12 pts · 358d
@HellsBelle
This is the right move. Imagine if politicians were paid only for the time they were at their seat.
Railroad unions have followed the process by the book, and there's still no resolution after being in court for a year now:
https://tcrcplbo.ca/section-107-challenges/
Being forced to go back to a job under-compensated is an untenable situation here. Something needed to be done lest we lose our right to collective labour action.
#Solidarity #Railroad #Union #AirCanada #Strike
rbos@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 358d
Stuck in Halifax. Fuck Air Canada. But also aaaaaagh frustrating. Pay your goddamn employees.
Tm12@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 358d
Feel for you. My sister is visiting me soon and her return is AC right before school starts. I want to have empathy for her, but pay your employees.
TheBloodFarts@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 358d
Friend of mine had his flight from Toronto to Regina cancelled while they were boarding their first flight to Toronto. Exhausted all options and opted to rent a car a drive from Pearson to Regina, with 2 young kids and a dog. They've been driving since Friday
phx@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 357d
He should play "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" for the kids on a tablet while they drive!