Air Canada issued a 72-hour lockout notice to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) on Aug. 13 as the union intends to strike.
The CUPE represents 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge.
“To provide customers certainty, Air Canada will begin a phased wind down of most of its operations to be completed over the next three days. The airline has also sought government-directed arbitration to resolve the situation,” read an Air Canada press release.
Air Canada tabled a revised comprehensive proposal to the union on Aug. 11 with no adjustments in return from its flight attendants. It did, however, provide for a 38 per cent total compensation increase over four years.
The offer also addressed the issue of ground pay, improved pensions and benefits, increased crew rest and contained other improvements.
In an additional attempt to prevent travel disruptions, Air Canada suggested that CUPE enter into third-party binding arbitration to settle the outstanding points of discussion. CUPE issued a notice to begin a strike as early as Aug. 16.
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