Air Canada accuses flight attendants union of bargaining in bad faith

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Air Canada demanded compensation Thursday from the union representing its 6,800 flight attendants which it accused of bargaining in bad faith.

The airline, which did not specify how much it was seeking, said the Canadian Union of Public Employees did not do enough to encourage the ratification of two tentative deals that were negotiated, but later rejected by the flight attendants.

In the unfair labour practice complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, Air Canada accused the union of changing its demands in the second round of bargaining that added more costs to the carrier.

In addition, the Montreal-based airline said the union misrepresented what its members would accept to ratify a collective agreement.

“It is Air Canada’s position that the last tentative agreement reached on September 20, 2011 was rejected by CUPE membership as a result of CUPE’s bad faith conduct during the bargaining process,” the Montreal airline said Thursday as it revealed its  labour board complaint.

Air Canada and its unions have had rocky relationships for years, ever since the big carrier restructured under bankruptcy protection and forced concessions from workers on wages, pensions and other benefits so it could reduce its costs.

Some of those concessions were clawed by the unions in later contracts, though Air Canada continues to try and keep costs down as it fights for market share in an increasingly competitive air travel market.

Thursday’s allegations came as the union protested at the airport in Montreal and federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt’s constituency office in Milton, just north of Toronto, after a planned strike was blocked just hours before it was set to begin.

The union cancelled its strike on Wednesday after Raitt referred the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board on Wednesday, effectively quashing the job action.

Sid Ryan, head of the Ontario Federation of Labour and a former senior CUPE leader attended the rally and said Raitt has “trampled the rights of workers who have made incredible sacrifices for the company.”

“Minister Raitt has forgotten that she works for the Parliament of Canada, not the Parliament of Air Canada,” Ryan said. “It is outrageous that the Harper government is interfering in the collective bargaining process to tip the balance in favour of a greedy employer.”

Earlier Thursday, the airline called it “business as usual” as the minister’s decision allowed flights to take off as scheduled.

At the airport in Montreal, passengers were mixed in their opinions about whether the minister should have intervened.

The union has accused Raitt of misusing the federal labour board, which is intended to be an independent, quasi-judicial body.

CUPE has negotiated two contracts with Montreal-based Air Canada in the last three months, but both have been rejected by the flight attendants.

The workers are angry about the airline’s plans for a discount carrier that would require lower wages for new hires and the company’s position on pensions and other work issues.

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