An update to the Air Canada strike is available here.
On the picket line outside Kelowna airport, striking flight attendants are strident.
After all, first there was strike notice.
Then a lockout.
Then flight cancellations.
Then the strike.
Yet more flight cancellations.
And now a so-called 'unlawful' strike that's shut down even more Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Rouge flights in an amped up labour dispute pitting flight attendants and their union against the airline and the federal government.
All in all, it's resulted in the cancellation of 10 inbound flights and 10 outbound flights at Kelowna International Airport in three days -- all of them Air Canada Rouge service to between Kelowna and Toronto and Montreal.
Network wide there's been countless cancellations and an estimated 500,000 passengers left in the lurch so far as 10,000 flight attendants are off the job.
Before the strike, there were two flights a day between Kelowna and Toronto and once-a-week service between Kelowna and Montreal.
Air Canada Jazz flights between Kelowna and Vancouver and Calgary are still flying because Jazz flight attendants are covered by a separate collective agreement.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered flight attendants back to work on Saturday and Air Canada announced the return of flights Sunday.
The board also demanded Air Canada and the union to get back to the bargaining table for binding arbitration, which Air Canada wants and the union does not.
Flight attendants, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees refused to go back to work.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board has now deemed the strike 'unlawful'.
"What I think is illegal is the fact that we're not able to vote and use our Canadian chartered rights and freedoms to vote for a fair contract," said flight attendant Jillian Fugedi, one of a dozen walking the picket line outside Kelowna airport Monday afternoon.
"We're staying strong on the strike front because this is bigger than just flight attendants. Now, with the government stepping in with (Section) 107 (of the Canada Labour Code, which allows the labour minister to intervene in a strike and order workers back on the job against their will) what's to say that every unionized worker is not going to have their company just wait for the government to jump in."
Flight attendants want a raise to make up for lost time and to keep up with inflation.
They also want to be paid for the 35 hours a month they generally don't get paid for now.
Currerntly, flight attendants are only paid for the time the plane is in the air and not the time they spend once they get to the airport and aircraft, clearing security, doing safety checks and greeting passengers or afterward helping passengers off the plane.
"If I work a three-leg day (three short flights), I can be working for 12 and a half hours and only be paid for about eight," pointed out Fugedi.
Fudedi said the flight attendants on the picket line have been getting lots of support from passengers and airport employees.
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"There's certainly a respectful relationship there," said Kelowna airport CEO Sam Samaddar.
"There's a right for people to be able to demonstrate. They're able to do what they need to do in terms of their democratic process."
Samaddar stressed that Air Canada Rouge passengers keep checking with Air Canada for cancellation information, refund and credit and rebooking (with another airline) options.
Also, he pointed out that if you are travelling on Air Canada Jazz to Vancouver or Calgary your flight will go, but if you're supposed to be connecting to an Air Canada mainline or Air Canada Rouge flight to fly farther afield that flight is now cancelled.
So, once again, important to check and see if the flight you connect onto can be with another airline so you can get to where you're going.
