Air Canada flight attendants union says strike has ended

The union representing Air Canada’s 10,000 flight attendants says its members will return to work after reaching a tentative agreement with the airline, effectively ending a disruptive strike that grounded thousands of flights and stranded passengers across the country.

The Air Canada Component of CUPE confirmed the breakthrough early on Tuesday, following days of tense negotiations and a federal order for binding arbitration.

“The strike has ended. We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you,” read the union’s statement. “We are required to advise our membership that we must fully cooperate with the resumption of operations.”

The flight attendants’ union says both sides were negotiating from 7 p.m. ET on Monday to just after 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

“We will have Zoom road shows and a ratification for this contract. Your right to vote on your wages was preserved,” the Air Canada Component of CUPE said.

Earlier Monday, CUPE national president Mark Hancock said union leaders were all-in on pushing for a negotiated deal.

“If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it. We’re looking for a solution here; our members want a solution here. But that solution has to be found at a bargaining table.”

The workers initially defied an order by the Canada Industrial Relations Board to return to work on Sunday, leading the board to rule that the strike is unlawful.

Air Canada estimated Monday that some 500,000 customers’ flights have been cancelled since the strike began.

With files from The Canadian Press