CUPE is defying Ottawa’s attempt to impose binding arbitration
On August 16, the Air Canada Component of CUPE walked out after over 8 months of negotiating with the airline. The union is demanding better wages to keep up with inflation and fighting against uncompensated labour, as the flight attendants are not paid for their work before planes take off. CUPE has pointed out how Air Canada’s policies “reinforce the gender wage gap for our female-dominated workforce.” These demands are posed against the backdrop of Canada’s rising cost of living.
Within hours, the Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu stepped in and imposed binding arbitration, a process that had earlier been suggested by the airline and rejected by the workers. In a statement, Hajdu cited the impacts on Canada’s economy and the importance of acting “to preserve stability and supply chains in this unique and uncertain economic context.” CUPE has since chosen to defy Hajdu’s back-to-work order, in a step deemed illegal by Air Canada and the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
CUPE believes the government is imposing on the workers’ Charter rights and “rewarding Air Canada’s refusal to negotiate fairly.” Binding arbitration, which involves a third party mediator deciding on a new agreement, is considered by many unions to be a weaker option than collective bargaining and labour disruptions. This was applied in 2024 to disputes between Canada’s major railways and railworkers represented by the Teamsters union. Similar concerns of economic impact due to transportation delays were cited.
CUPE’s suggestion that these measures set a bad precedent are especially pertinent amidst the ongoing Canada Post negotiations, and the general rise in strike activity in recent years. Strikes in Canada trended downward since the 1970s, reaching a record low between 2017 and 2020. Since 2023, however, workers have increasingly been walking out, which the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives attributes to issues of affordability and policies that disadvantage workers. Government authority to impose arbitration is a legal limitation on unions’ power, but CUPE’s actions in the Air Canada case suggest that workers are willing to go as far as to assert their demands through extralegal methods.