CTVNews.ca Staff

Air Canada is seeking financial compensation from the union representing its 6,800 flight attendants, amid an allegation that union brass have been negotiating in bad faith.

The airline said Thursday afternoon that the Canadian Union of Public Employees hasn’t done enough to ensure that a new contract is ratified by union members, who have been in a long-running dispute with Canada’s largest air carrier.

“Though the company was given assurances of unanimous support from the CUPE leadership for the first tentative agreement, individual base presidents remained silent or expressed views against ratification during the ratification process,” Air Canada stated.

The airline, which has submitted the unfair practice complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, did not say how much it was seeking in compensation.

The salvo is the latest in a bitter labour battle that has pitted the airline against its employees, with the federal government wading in with a controversial decision to quash a potential strike this week.

In response to Ottawa’s intervention, flight attendants staged a noisy protest at the Toronto-area office of Labour Minister Lisa Raitt Thursday, decrying her decision to bar workers from striking.

In a symbolic show of defiance, the protesters at Raitt’s Milton constituency office shouted slogans like “negotiate, don’t legislate,” and held banners carrying messages such as “R.I.P. Labour Rights.”

Flight attendants were due to strike on Thursday morning, after they rejected a deal that union negotiators had brought to them to ratify. It was the second time a deal was rejected.

But before they could walk off the job, Raitt submitted two referrals to the CIRB that suspended the flight attendants’ right to strike.

Raitt’s two referrals ask the board to determine if flight attendants provide essential services, and to consider whether it should impose a settlement or send the dispute to binding arbitration.

Sid Ryan, head of the Ontario Labour Federation, rallied the striking workers at Raitt’s Milton office and said that flight attendants have already made concessions to the airline.

Ryan, an ex-leader of CUPE, pointed to a 20-per-cent wage cut that flight attendants took in 2004.

“The labour movement is always accused, that somehow, the leadership are leading the membership around by the nose,” Ryan said through a megaphone.

“And in this case you’ve proven twice that it’s the membership that are in control, it’s the membership that makes the decisions,” he said, adding that each flight attendant has given back about $8,000 in wages through a series of rollbacks.

Raitt was not at her constituency office, which is about 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto.

Elsewhere, the union representing Air Canada’s 6,800 flight attendants also called for a Thursday demonstration at the Montreal airport, just hours after its members were supposed to be forming a picket line at the very same location.

In advance of Thursday’s planned demonstrations, Air Canada said it was “business as usual” for the airline, as flights were taking off as scheduled.

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The clock is ticking towards Air Canada’s second strike this year and potentially the big carrier’s most costly labour dispute in 13 years.

Negotiators for the airline and the union representing flight attendants have been meeting since Sept. 1 trying to hammer out a second contract that can win member approval.

Flight attendants overwhelmingly voted to give their union a strike mandate, less than a month after they rejected a previous tentative agreement.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees gave strike notice Friday night meaning the flight attendants will legally be able to walk off the job as early as Wednesday.

Hanging over the heads of the two sides is believed to be a government threat to quickly order an end to a strike that could threaten the country’s weakened economic recovery.

Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt has invited both sides to a meeting if they can’t hammer out a deal this weekend.

“If there is no progress after this weekend, I intend on meeting with both parties face-to-face Monday in Ottawa,” Ms. Raitt said in an email.

“I had a conference call with parties Wednesday evening. My message was that we want them to get a deal that can be ratified by membership. And if they can’t get a deal then I asked them to find a process to get them to a deal.

“Both parties understand the effect that a work stoppage has on the economy and will work hard to get a deal.”

A three-day strike in June by Air Canada customer service agents ended after they reached a deal once the government tabled back-to-work legislation.

The precedent created by the government appears to have reduced the anxiety of some passengers planning last-minute trips next week.

Rivals such as WestJet Airlines and Porter Airlines say they have not seen any substantial increase in bookings as Air Canada customers seek alternative transportation.

“We do have the ability to add some capacity (extra flights) if it becomes necessary… but so far, we haven’t seen any increase in calls or bookings as a result of this situation,” said Robert Palmer, spokesman for the Calgary-based airline.

Brad Cicero of Porter Airlines added that there is “currently no change in the booking pattern.”

Business passengers have greater flexibility to change flights if there is a strike. But leisure travellers with firm bookings in the coming days may be concerned about plans being disrupted, said Robert Kokonis, president of airline consulting firm AirTrav Inc.

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Air Canada flight attendants are asking for a federal conciliator to assist in negotiations with the airline. The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, on behalf of its over 6,800 flight attendant members at the airline, filed its request with the Federal Mediations and Conciliation Services after reaching an impasse on several key issues with the airlines management.

“The union’s proposals have been fair, but Air Canada seems intent on pushing for unreasonable concessions from its flight attendants,” said Jeff Taylor, president of the AC Component of CUPE. “We are left with no choice but to ask for a conciliator’s assistance in the hopes they will help us and Air Canada find some common ground.”

The collective agreement between the flight attendants and Air Canada expired last March. Negotiations for a new contract have been underway since April 6, and all proposals from both parties have been presented.

The union proposals included fair wage increases and much needed improvements in working conditions. Air Canada is demanding several concessions which would increase workloads, reduce health benefits, and make drastic changes to the pension plan.

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The city and its largest union have exactly two weeks to reach a deal before the strike or lockout deadline.

Representatives from the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 5167 will be in a legal strike position as of Saturday, June 18. On that date, the city will also be able to legally lock out CUPE employees.

Negotiations have stalled over wage increases for CUPE local’s 3,200 employees — roughly 40 per cent of the city’s 8,000-member workforce. The city’s best offer is a 1 per cent increase in each of the next four years. CUPE’s counter-offer is a 4.25 per cent increase over two years.

City councillors set a firm precedent for fiscal conservatism earlier this year when they approved a 0.8 property tax increase, the lowest since amalgamation. Around the council table, they have also repeatedly stated that during October’s municipal election campaign, voters overwhelmingly asked for belt-tightening at City Hall.

However, other municipalities that have made deals with unions over the past six months have settled on wage increases that are closer to CUPE’s offer than the city’s.

Frederick Ho, a CUPE national representative, said the 2 per cent mark is about the average for recent union wage increases across the province.

“We do see a very consistent pattern in terms of settlements in and around 2 per cent in the municipal sector,” he said. “The broad trends are pretty clear.”

Kingston, York Region, Barrie, Markham and Brantford are among the cities that offered unionized employees at least two per cent a year for the next three years. On the higher end of the spectrum are Markham and York Region, whose union employees will receive 2.35 per cent in year one and two of their contracts and three per cent in the third year.

London, which settled with two CUPE units in December, offered an increase that’s slightly lower than the 2 per cent trend. In the first year, members’ pay will stay the same. In each of the following three years, members will receive 1.9 per cent.

The average wage increase for the private sector is also around 2 per cent.

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The City of Winnipeg and its largest union both say they hope to return to the bargaining table in an effort to settle a contract dispute that’s nontheless headed toward a strike vote today.

Approximately 4,660 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 are eligible to take part in today’s vote, which is expected to give union negotiators a strike mandate.

The additional leverage, however, does not guarantee an actual strike, as it is common for unions and employers to work out contracts following a strike mandate.

As well, both the city and CUPE used conciliatory language on Thursday to characterize their dispute. Talks between the two sides broke off last week, when CUPE brass deemed a four-year city contract offer unacceptable.

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The national and Ontario presidents of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, who visited the picket line Tuesday to express support for the worker’s pension fight, brought a generous cheque for the strike fund as well as their encouraging words.

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The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 966, representing nearly 300 public health nurses in Peel, met last Thursday with a conciliator in a bid to “reach a fair agreement before Christmas.”

“This employer has given salary increases to management and non-union staff in 2010 and we are not going to be left out,” said Mary-Jo Falle, president of CUPE 966, referring to the Region of Peel.

The union and Peel have been in negotiations over an improved deal for nurses since August. In September, union members voted overwhelmingly (97 per cent) in favour of a strike. Their strike deadline is Jan. 31.

The union said a major sticking point for nurses revolves around the concept of “life/work balance.”

Peel is asking nurses to alter their hours of work to “start earlier in the morning and finish later at night,” the union says.

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CORNWALL — Labour negotiations are ratcheting up between the city and several unions representing municipal employees.

Paramedics representative Elliot Montfort said his local has asked for a conciliator after meeting four times with the city’s bargainers, headed by human resources manager Robert Menagh.

“On the fourth day there was no movement and the union decided halfway through the day to let the city know it would need a conciliator to help absolve negotiations,” Montfort said on Friday.

He said his 90 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local are serious about meeting the “minimal objectives.”

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The clock is ticking towards a possible strike or lockout at Carleton University.

Talks will resume today between Carleton and the union representing 800 professionals, office and technical employees. The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2424 will be in a legal strike position on Thursday if a deal is not reached.

Carleton says CUPE Local 2424 and the union representing teaching assistants will be holding an “information picket” this morning at both entrances to Carleton University.

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The Town of Richmond Hill’s outside workers and other members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 905 came together for an “information picket” outside town hall Wednesday afternoon.

The picket came on the heels of those same town employees voting unanimously in favour of a strike, should their demands not be met by the town in upcoming talks.

The picket began at 4:15 p.m. as more than 100 union members lined the sidewalk outside town hall, with the line of workers extending down to the busy intersection of East Beaver Creek and Hwy. 7.

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