Air Canada flight attendants continue to picket outside Winnipeg airport

Flight attendants continued walking the picket lines in Winnipeg as the Air Canada strike continues.

Air Canada flight attendants picketed outside the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport on Monday for the third consecutive day amid an ongoing flight attendant strike.

Since Saturday, approximately 10,000 unionized flight attendants have gone on strike after CUPE and the airline failed to reach a new collective agreement, with issues surrounding “fair pay” and “pay for unpaid time.”

Federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to order binding arbitration between the two parties just hours into the strike, with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) issuing a return-to-work order.

However, flight attendants for Canada’s largest airline continue to remain off the job, in what the CIRB described Monday as an “unlawful strike.”

“The Liberal government has picked a fight with the wrong union,” said Gina McKay, president of CUPE Manitoba, to dozens of picketers outside the Winnipeg airport.

“These workers deserve a fair contract, and that’s what CUPE is doing … No matter what orders come through, we are going to ensure that these workers get the contract they deserve.”

McKay said despite the CIRB declaring the strike illegal, flight attendants have a right to strike—which she says will continue until the workers get the contract they deserve.

“We believe that this is our constitutional right to strike, and that’s been stripped away from these workers,” she said.

“We’re making a stance and taking a stance here today and through these next few days to say, ‘We have the right to strike.’ ... We don’t agree with the Section 107 that’s been delivered.”

In a statement, Air Canada said that approximately 130,000 customers will be impacted each day that the strike continues.

“And so, no matter what the fines, no matter what comes our way, we have the constitutional right to strike, and we will uphold those rights,” said McKay.

-With files from CTV’s Scott Andersson