Air Canada hostesses voted overly against the last salary offer of the airline, said its union, a vote that is expected to have no impact on flight operations.
The tentative agreement, which ended a strike in the airline last month, includes a 12 percent salary increase this year for most junior flight attendees and an eight percent increase for more senior members, followed by smaller increases in later years.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said in a statement that 99.1 percent of the members rejected the proposal, arguing that flight attendees would still gain less than the federal minimum wage.
“The salary problem is now in mediation and, if necessary, it will be resolved in arbitration,” said CUPE’s statement.
Air Canada in a statement confirmed that the problem is now in mediation.
The consequences of a recent Air Canada strike are amplifying the calls for greater competition of national airlines. For the National, Karen Pauls of CBC broken down what would be needed for more companies to fly in Canada and why not everyone thinks is the correct solution.
“We deeply appreciate the patience and trust that our clients have shown while we work in this process,” said the airline.
“The parties also agreed that a labor interruption could not be initiated and, therefore, there will be no attack or blockade, and the flights will continue to operate,” said the airline.
The three -day flight strike ended on August 19 with the help of a federal mediator after the travel plans of thousands of customers overturned.
Cupe on Saturday criticized the federal government for what he considered intrusion.
“Federal government intervention in negotiations had a corrosive effect that was impossible to ignore,” said the union.
“Instead of remaining neutral, it distorted the balance of the process by offering Air Canada the leverage to limit the salary increases offered to the hostesses.”
A spokesman for the Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hadju confirmed in a written statement on Saturday night that “the parties committed, in case of a failed ratification, to a final and binding arbitration to end a new collective agreement.”
