Air Canada flight attendants stay on strike despite back-to-work order
發佈日期: 2025-08-18 19:57
TVB News
Air Canada flight attendants are still on strike defying a government order to go to back to work and take their pay dispute to arbitration.
The union, representing thousands of workers has refused.
Planes are still grounded, flights are cancelled, and it is unclear when they will resume.
"A family vacation, and now we can't get home," says Jenny Phelps, just one of the thousands of travellers inconvenienced by flight attendants of Air Canada defying the government which had told them to go back to work and negotiate with their bosses.
The union representing 10,000 cabin crew said no to arbitration,calling the return to work order "unconstitutional."
The strike continues.
"We won't fly, we won't fly, we won't fly", these stewards and stewardesses chanted. They are refusing to take to the skies.
Despite bad weather the picket lines and protests across Canada only grew.
They say they are underpaid and overworked.
The government is now trying to mediate some short-term truce to clear the air and get planes taking off again.
At least seven hundred flights have been grounded.
The knock-on effect is having an impact across the globe.
The airline says it hopes to resume flights later Monday but stranded customers were left in the dark as many due on the same flight said they were given differing details.
Some were turned away from the airport desks and told to check on-line.
Phelps added more information: "We've been trying to get through on the phone to Air Canada, to try and rebook our flights. Been looking online. There's nothing available. Can't get through on the phone. So I just decided to come down here to the airport to see if I could talk to an agent and get something booked."
Similar confusion from Andrew Dixon from London: "Thought we'd get here early so try and find out what's going on. Maybe work something out for later in the day. if it is, what could go wrong?
As Air Canada flights showed up in red on the departures board, activity in the departure hall was slow.
Most travellers stayed away knowing they had no chance of leaving with the carrier over the weekend.
It has been estimated 130,000 have been affected by the industrial action and that number will grow if the strike is sustained.
