Air Canada union wants deal on essential services

CUPE makes a fair point. Either the relationship is the normal one with a strike as an option or it is essential services where there is arbitration etc. Leaving everything in limbo is most unfair to the workers and the public:

Toronto SUN http://bit.ly/pz1hQ7

The union representing Air Canada's flight attendants is charging that the airline is refusing to take a stance on essential services.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) made the accusation after meeting with Air Canada Friday at the Canadian Industrial Relations Board.
Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt has asked the board to consider whether there are essential services that need to be kept in place to "prevent immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public" in the event of a strike.

In a statement issued Friday evening, CUPE said, "Air Canada took no position on the question of essential services. They indicated only that they needed more time. Clearly, if the company has no position on the issue, the use of this tactic is simply smoke and mirrors to delay our legal right to strike."

CUPE says it would like to "deal as quickly as possible with the issues in order to get back to the table and let the parties come to an agreement without interference from the government," and added that "it continues to be our goal to come to an agreement that recognizes the sacrifices flight attendants have made over the last decade."