Air Canada says flight attendants talks at 'impasse' as strike notice nears

Air Canada flight attendants at YYC, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, held a simultaneous action at airports in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, to raise awareness among Canadians about ongoing issues related to their working conditions in Calgary on Aug. 11. (Credit: Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia)

Air Canada says negotiations with its unionized flight attendants “have reached an impasse” as a statutory 72-hour strike or lockout notice nears.

The airline said talks with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 of its flight attendants, are deadlocked after the union on Tuesday rejected an offer by the company to enter binding, third-party arbitration.

“Air Canada now believes the talks are at an impasse, after the union submitted a counteroffer seeking exorbitant increases, beyond those presented in earlier submissions, and today rejected an offer by the company to enter binding, third-party arbitration,” the airline said in a release.

“The arbitration process proposed would protect the interests of the parties by having them agree on an independent arbitrator who would impartially take into account the parties’ positions to arrive at a new, balanced contract by which both would abide.”

Air Canada now believes the talks are at an impasse after it said CUPE submitted a counteroffer seeking pay increases beyond those presented in earlier submissions.

What you need to know in the event of an Air Canada strike Howard Levitt: The strike threat from Air Canada's flight attendants is a moonshot — and unlikely to land

CUPE, however, said Air Canada no longer wants to negotiate.

“They want to go to arbitration, rather than stay at the bargaining table and bargain a new contract,” Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, said in a release. “Everyone knows the best deals are negotiated at the bargaining table, not handed down by an outside third-party. Then why does Air Canada want the union to agree to arbitration?”

The union will be in a position to issue a statutory 72-hour strike or lockout notice at 12:01 am eastern time on Wednesday, which could shut Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights down as early as Saturday morning. Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz or PAL Airlines will continue to operate as normal, the airline said.

• Email: [email protected]