Overview

• Over 10,000 flight attendants represented by CUPE began voting July 28 on a strike mandate after a 60-day federally mediated conciliation ended without a deal
• Canadian labour law bars any strike until the 60-day conciliation period expires and a 21-day cooling-off phase ends so a 72-hour strike notice could arrive no earlier than August 16
• Attendants are pressing for higher wages, pay for hours of mandatory unpaid duties before and after flights, and stronger pension safeguards
• Air Canada calls the vote a routine negotiating step and says it remains committed to good-faith talks toward a collective agreement
• Last October, Air Canada pilots averted a shutdown by securing a contract with a cumulative 42 percent wage increase after their own strike mandate vote