TORONTO: Over 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants have gone on strike after last-minute talks failed to produce an agreement, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) confirmed early Saturday.
CUPE spokesperson Hugh Pouliot said the walkout began after the deadline passed without a deal. Air Canada announced that all flights would be cancelled for the duration of the strike. The airline has already scrapped more than 620 flights, leaving thousands of travellers stranded worldwide during the busy summer travel season.
The dispute intensified on Friday when the union rejected the airline’s request to enter government-directed arbitration — a move that would have removed the right to strike and placed contract negotiations in the hands of a third-party mediator.
