Air Canada Faces Strike Threat as Talks Collapse
Labour negotiations between Air Canada and its flight attendants have hit a major roadblock—just hours before a critical strike notice deadline. For months, the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing over 10,400 flight attendants, have been at the table trying to hammer out a new collective agreement. Talks began back in December 2024, but progress has been slow, and tensions have been steadily building.
The latest standoff came after Air Canada suggested bringing in a third-party arbitrator from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to settle the dispute. The idea was pitched as a way to end the uncertainty and reach a binding decision quickly, but the union wasn’t buying it. CUPE leaders argued that arbitration would favor the airline and sidestep real bargaining. In their view, Air Canada simply didn’t want to keep negotiating face-to-face.
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Under Canadian labour law, if no deal is reached, CUPE can issue a 72-hour strike notice. That clock is now ticking. If nothing changes, a strike could start as early as this Saturday, just after midnight, grounding flights and throwing travel plans into chaos. The government does have the power to step in—Ottawa has forced parties into arbitration under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code several times in recent years—but so far, there’s been no announcement of such an intervention.
At the heart of the dispute is one particularly thorny issue: unpaid work. Flight attendants are currently paid only for the time between takeoff and landing. That means duties like boarding passengers, performing safety checks, or helping people disembark are done without pay. The union says this adds up to an average of 35 hours a month—nearly a full week’s work—for free. Air Canada has offered to start compensating some of that time, but only at half the normal hourly rate.
There’s also the question of wages. The union says the airline proposed an 8% raise in the first year of a four-year deal, adding up to a total 17.2% over the contract’s duration. Air Canada claims its offer actually amounts to a 38% increase in total compensation when benefits are included. CUPE, however, rejected that proposal, calling for much higher wage hikes. The union’s strike mandate is one of the strongest in recent Canadian labour history—99.7% voted in favor, with a 94.6% turnout.
Air Canada points out that pay for long-serving attendants has grown significantly over the past decade, and that more than half earn over $54,000 a year before benefits. The airline also highlights its post-pandemic financial rebound, with $5.6 billion in revenue and $186 million in profit last quarter.
If the strike goes ahead, Air Canada says customers on cancelled flights will be refunded. But for now, with both sides holding firm, the countdown to a possible nationwide disruption is on.
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