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Air Transat flight attendants have strike mandate, CUPE says
November 27, 2023 By Wings Staff
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has announced that its 2,100 flight attendant members at Air Transat have a strike mandate.
In a Nov. 27 statement, CUPE officials said the mandate was approved during general meetings by a nearly unanimous vote of 99.8 per cent, which is called “by far the highest tally in the history of the Air Transat Component of CUPE.”
The vote reflects the flight attendants’ exceptionally “high level of dissatisfaction with their working conditions,” CUPE said, particularly with wages and purchasing power.
“Over the past 15 years, our members have had to make significant sacrifices during challenging times for the industry. Now, faced with the dizzying rise in the cost of living and the industry’s favourable prospects, they are ready to take action. More than 50 per cent of [our members] have been forced to take on a second or even a third job to make ends meet, and their starting salary is only $26,577 per year,” said Dominic Levasseur, president of the Air Transat Component of CUPE. “The next few weeks of negotiations will be critical. It is still possible to reach a tentative agreement without resorting to a strike, but that option cannot be excluded. The ball is in the employer’s court; they should be aware that our members have high expectations and are extremely motivated.”
The collective agreement for these flight attendants based at airports in Montreal (YUL) and Toronto (YYZ) expired on Oct. 31, 2022, CUPE said, and negotiations began officially on April 27, 2023.
“To date, there have been 33 negotiation sessions,” the statement said. “Under the Canada Labour Code, a strike relating to this matter would be legal as of January 3, 2024. In the event of a strike, it should be anticipated that all flights will be canceled.”
The Air Transat Component is part of CUPE’s Airline Division, which represents more than 18,500 flight attendants employed at Air Transat, Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Sunwing, WestJet, Encore, Calm Air, Canadian North, Pivot Airlines, Flair Airlines, PAL and Pascan.
