We wanted to provide you with an update on the work that your national union is undertaking on behalf of Air Canada Component members and all workers across Canada with respect to government interference in collective bargaining.
As you know, CUPE filed for a judicial review of Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu’s use of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code on August 16th to end our strike and refer all matters to binding arbitration.
CUPE believes that the government’s intervention in our negotiations was a clear violation of our Charter-protected rights. This abuse has implications for flight attendants and every worker in federally-regulated workplaces, and CUPE believes it has an obligation to defend these important bargaining rights against future attacks.
This is what is often referred to as a Charter challenge.
Section 107 has had a corrosive effect on the bargaining environment in recent years, and creates a fundamental imbalance in labour relations. Employers have stopped negotiating fairly because they know the federal government with intervene on their behalf. Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau even admitted on BNN Bloomberg on August 18th that the company never planned for a strike because they had always banked on the government using Section 107 to prevent a strike before it could happen. CUPE believes Section 107 needs to be repealed. CUPE does not trust the Liberal government – or a future Conservative government – to do what is right and what is needed, which is why the national union will proceed with its legal challenge against Section 107.
This will not be resolved overnight, but we will keep you informed as this fight progresses.
Govern yourselves accordingly, in solidarity,
Wesley Lesosky
President, Air Canada Component of CUPE