Federal labour minister urging agreement in looming Air Canada strike
Posted September 15, 2011 9:43 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Let’s make a deal. That’s the message the federal government has for Air Canada and its flight attendants.
The pressure is coming as attendants are just days away from a possible strike.
On Tuesday their union voted overwhelmingly in favor of job action, and close to 7,000 employees at the airline could walk off the job as early as Wednesday.
The potential for job action isn’t sitting well with federal labour minister Lisa Raitt, who told 680News she wants Air Canada and the union sitting at the bargaining table over the next few days.
“If they don’t come to an agreement by themselves on the weekend, I intend to see them the beginning of next week,” Rait explained.
Raitt said job action like this would not only strand passengers but could do harm to the economy.
“Having your largest carrier with the predominant market share not being able to fly is a great concern for us,” Rait said.
While the minister is pushing for the two sides to reach their own agreement she’s not counting out back-to-work legislation, although she’s hoping it doesn’t get to that point.
