Air Canada cabin crew strike enters day four as talks resume

19/8/2025 13:11

Air Canada flight attendants extended their strike into a fourth day on Tuesday, although the union said both sides had resumed talks as hundreds of thousands of passengers had flights canceled during the busy summer travel season.



The Canadian Union of Public Employees' (CUPE) refusal to follow a federal labor board order for the flight attendants to return to work has created a three-way standoff between the company, workers, and the government. It has also raised the stakes in a dispute that is now closely watched by other labor groups.

The union had met with Air Canada and mediator William Kaplan in Toronto, CUPE said in a statement on Facebook late Monday. The strike is still on, it said.



The two sides had not spoken since before the strike began. A source said there are discussions being held on whether to hold mediation, but with the condition that the flight attendants return to work.



Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu had urged both sides to consider government mediation and raised pressure on Air Canada, promising to investigate allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector, a key complaint of flight attendants who say they are not paid for work on the ground.