Why did Air Canada talks with flight attendants fall apart? Here’s what the union says

President of the CUPE Airline Division Wesley Lesosky on what led to the strike notice after failed negotiations.

The head of the union for Air Canada flight attendants says he’s “not overly optimistic” but still has hope that the company will return to the bargaining table.

“I’m dismayed that the employer would put us in this position now and the travelling public in this position now,” Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), told CTV News Channel on Wednesday.

“It’s within their control to deal with this,” he added.

The union representing about 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice overnight Wednesday, with the airline issuing a lockout notice in response.

Air Canada has since said it will gradually cancel flights Thursday ahead of a possible strike that could happen on Saturday.

Lesosky said Air Canada came to the table with an eight per cent increase for the first year.

“That still would not pull our members out of the poverty level,” he said. “It wouldn’t address the key issues that have pushed our members down below that level.”

In a statement he posted on the CUPE website Tuesday, Lesosky said flight attendants have taken a nine per cent cut to their real wages due to inflation since 2015.

This makes the company’s wage offer “below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage,” he said, adding that flight attendants are still unpaid for certain work.

Flight attendants are pushing to end unpaid work, such as during boarding, deplaning and a medical emergency.

Air Canada said Tuesday that the two sides remained far apart in negotiations.

“We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve,” Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau said in a statement.

Watch the video above for the full interview.

With files from The Canadian Press