Labour Minister to block strike by Air Canada flight attendants
Posted Oct 11, 2011 9:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL – Labour minister Lisa Raitt says the government is calling on the Canada Industrial Relations Board to deal with Air Canada’s failed negotiations with its flight attendants.
She says referring the matter to the labour relations board will prevent nearly 7,000 flight attendants at Canada’s largest airline from going on strike on Thursday.
The latest twist in Air Canada’s troubled contract negotiations comes after members of the union rejected a second tentative agreement supported by leaders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
Raitt said a reference will be sent Wednesday asking the board to examine the difficulties in winning membership ratification of two tentative agreements this year.
The reference buys the government time to pass back to work legislation until the House of Commons resumes sitting next week.
Flight attendants in Calgary are set to walk off the job at 10:01 p.m. on Wednesday.
