The imbroglio continues in Canadian skies. Paralysed by strike action over the weekend, with a movement of initiated the 16 August by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) - some 10,000 employees - air transport was due to resume service on Sunday, the government having chosen the hard way. Air Canada announced the resumption of operations: " Flights will resume this evening and gradually increase over the next few days. ". But he quickly changed his mind...
The strike was called off by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). "The CIRB ordered Air Canada to resume flight operations and all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants to resume their duties no later than 2:00 p.m. ET on August 17, 2025. But the substantive issue remains unresolved...". The arbitration procedure will be examined in the days and weeks to come," Air Canada adds.
"It's not over yet"...
"This isn't the end of the story", was the swift reaction of CUPE National President Mark Hancock, heralding further action. "Mark Carney's Liberal government has done incalculable damage to the Charter and to workers' rights by siding with Air Canada in trampling on flight attendants' rights. Today [Sunday], the Minister of Employment and Families, Patty Hajdu, invoked section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to intervene on behalf of Air Canada to put an end to the flight attendants' strike less than 12 hours after it began," deplores the union.
Sunday evening, in the face of the union's resistance, Air Canada has finally announced that it is suspending its plan to resume Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights. According to management, "the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) illegally ordered its members to defy the Canada Industrial Relations Board's (CIRB) directive to return to work. The airline will resume flights as of tomorrow evening" [Monday]. Until then, the 240 flights that were due to be rescheduled have been cancelled again.
On Monday, Air Canada issued a new press release indicating that the CIRB had declared the illegal strikeand that it " orders CUPE officials to instruct flight attendants to return to work" . According to the authorities' decision, " the union and its officers shall publish written notice, via their website or other means, to all members by 12:00 p.m. (ET) on August 18, 2025, that it is revoking its declaration or authorization of strike activity and that all members are required to return to their duties; and" .
At the end of the day, the company announced that "all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights remain suspended as the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has not directed its flight attendants to return to work, as ordered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). The CIRB has also ordered the flight attendants to return to work immediately.
