The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents over 10,000 Air Canada cabin crew, on Wednesday gave the airline 72 hours to agree a pay deal or face a strike. The move came just hours after the carrier sought federal government intervention.
According to Reuters, the strike is scheduled to begin at about 1 a.m. ET on Saturday. Earlier this month, 99.7% of the union’s members voted in favour of strike action.
On Tuesday, the airline declared a deadlock in negotiations after the union rejected its proposal for binding arbitration. Air Canada had offered a 38% rise in total compensation for flight attendants over four years, including a 25% increase in the first year.
However, the union argued the offer was “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage – and still leaves flight attendants unpaid for all hours of work”. Most airlines pay cabin crew only for time spent in flight, but North American flight attendants are pressing for pay to cover all hours worked, including boarding and waiting at airports between flights.
On Wednesday, Air Canada also issued a lockout notice to employees, set to take effect 32 minutes after the strike began.