Striking Air Canada flight attendants defy back-to-work order

Highlights:

• Air Canada delays resuming operations to Monday evening
• Flight attendants stay on strike past deadline to return to duties
• Government ordered binding arbitration to break contract impasse

Air Canada's striking flight attendants on Sunday refused a government-backed labor board's order to return to work, forcing the airline to delay restarting its operations and leaving its passengers in limbo.

The Canadian Union of Public Employee said the 10,000 Air Canada attendants it represents would remain on strike, calling the order unconstitutional and "designed to protect the airline's profit." Instead, it invited Air Canada - the country's largest airline - back to the table to "negotiate a fair deal."

In response, the airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening.

The refusal by the union to obey the order left many travelers at Toronto Pearson International Airport confused and frustrated on Sunday afternoon. Many of them were camped out in airport lounges, uncertain whether when and if flights would resume or whether Air Canada would make tentative arrangements.

"We are kind of left to figure it out for ourselves and fend for ourselves with no recourse or options provided by Air Canada at this time," said Elizabeth Fourney of Vancouver.

Francesca Tondini, a 50-year-old from Italy, said she was about to return home after visiting Canada when her flight was canceled on Saturday and again on Sunday.

When she asked Air Canada when the flight would finally depart, the airline responded, "maybe tomorrow, maybe Tuesday, maybe Friday, maybe Saturday - they don't know!," she said.

The flight attendants began their strike early on Saturday morning, after negotiations that had dragged on for months reached an impasse. In anticipation, the airline canceled most of its 700 daily flights, forcing more than 100,000 travelers to scramble for alternatives.

Within hours of the strike declaration, the Canada Industrial Relations Board complied with a request by Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and ordered binding arbitration. The Canada Labour Code gives the government the power to ask the CIRB to impose such an order in the interest of protecting the economy.

GOVERNMENT ACTS

Air Canada had encouraged the government to act, while CUPE had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline.

"The federal government has entrusted a board to administer these rules in the Canadian Labor Code, and if you defy them, you are transgressing and essentially violating the law," said Rafael Gomez, a professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto.

It is exceedingly rare for a union to defy a back-to-work order. In 1978, Canadian postal workers refused to comply with back-to-work legislation, resulting in fines and the jailing of their union leader for contempt of Parliament.

The government's best option is to go to court to enforce the order and secure a contempt order if the union refused to back down, said Michael Lynk, professor emeritus at Western University's Faculty of Law in London, Ontario.

"The union leadership could face the same consequences as what happened 45 years ago. It could be fines against the union ... potential of jail time for the union leaders," he said.

The minority Liberal government could also try to pass back-to-work legislation, but that would require support of political rivals and approval in both houses of parliament, which is on break until Sept. 15.

"Like many Canadians, the minister is monitoring this situation closely," Jennifer Kozelj, Hajdu's press secretary, said in a statement.

"The Canada Industrial Relations Board (the Board) is an independent tribunal. Please refer to them regarding your question," she added in response to questions about the union's defiance of the order and about the refusal of the board's leader, a former Air Canada counsel, to recuse herself from the decision.

The CIRB did not respond to a request for comment.

The government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy.

Lynk said the CUPE was also likely to file a legal challenge to the order.

The government's use of its extraordinary power to force binding arbitration through CIRB, called Section 107, is relatively new. Unions have criticized the provision, saying such interference favors employers and denies their right to collective bargaining.

The most contentious issue has been the union's demand for compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board. Attendants are largely paid only when their plane is moving.