The True Post (Web News) Air Canada flight attendants have overwhelmingly rejected the latest salary offer made by their company.
According to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the staff representative organization, the multi-day vote ended at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, with 99.1 percent of members rejecting the offer. The union says 99.4 percent of its membership participated in the vote, a record level of participation. The rejected temporary agreement includes a 12 percent pay increase for new and junior flight attendants, an 8 percent increase for senior staff, and relatively small increases in future years.
Air Canada said in its written statement that since both parties had already agreed that if the salary offer was rejected, the matter would be referred to mediation, the matter will now be presented to the mediator. The company also clarified that according to the agreed principle, neither party will have the right to strike or lockout, so flights will continue as usual.
Recent background
More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants ended a three-day strike on August 19, during which thousands of passengers’ travel plans were affected. The strike ended after the intervention of a federal arbitrator.
Union accusation
CUPE accused the federal government of not maintaining **neutrality** during the negotiations. “It cannot be overstated how negatively the federal government played a role in these negotiations. They burdened Air Canada and gave the company incentives that put flight attendant wages under pressure,” the union said in a statement.
Future plan
Experts say the mediation phase will be crucial because both sides have already agreed to avoid any kind of labor disruption. For now, Air Canada flights will continue to operate as scheduled, while the flight attendants’ association is determined to continue pressing for better compensation.
