Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have agreed to skip mediation and send the wage portion of their flight attendant dispute directly to arbitration, the airline announced this morning.
The move comes after flight attendants rejected a four-year tentative agreement reached in August that included wage increases, pension improvements and benefits enhancements, according to Air Canada.
CUPE requested the cancellation of mediation on Friday, asking that wage negotiations proceed straight to the arbitration process ordered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the company said.
No service disruptions expected
Air Canada agreed to the union’s request and said flights will continue operating normally with no labour disruption possible under the current arrangement.
The wage component will now go to arbitration while all other negotiated items from the tentative agreement remain in force, including new compensation rules for ground work, according to the airline.
Retroactive pay coming
Flight attendants will receive wage increases and retroactive pay dating back to April 2025 once the arbitration process concludes, Air Canada said.
The company said the original tentative agreement was reached without union concessions and included a “mutually agreed-to modernization of compensation for work performed on the ground.”
Both parties had previously agreed that if the tentative deal was not ratified, wage issues would first go to mediation before potentially moving to arbitration if no agreement was reached.
Air Canada said it remains committed to the process and agreed to bypass mediation “in a spirit of cooperation” to provide cabin crew with their wage increases and back pay as quickly as possible.
The airline operates scheduled service to more than 180 airports across Canada, the United States and internationally, according to the company.
