Ottawa, Ontario - First Air flight attendants, members of Canadian Union of Public Employees, have filed for conciliation today in response to a sudden employer push for more concessions.
After 17 days of bargaining, negotiations reached an impasse on June 29 after First Air asked for more concessions.
“We consulted our members in Yellowknife, Edmonton, Iqaluit and Ottawa, and they clearly said no to more concessions,” said Ken Smith, president of the First Air Component of CUPE. “For our members, agreeing in principle to the wage freeze that the employer requested when bargaining began in February was more than enough.”
First Air Flight attendants have been without a contract since April 2014. Less than a dozen items remained to be negotiated when the talks broke off.
CUPE represents 87 flight attendants at First Air. They work out of Yellowknife, Edmonton, Iqaluit and Ottawa. In total, CUPE represents over 10,000 flight attendants employed by Air Canada, Air Transat, Calm Air, Canadian North, Canjet, Cathay Pacific, First Air and Sunwing.
For information:
Philippe Gagnon
CUPE Media Relations
613-894-0146
pgagnon@scfp.ca