Air Canada flight attendants are rallying in several cities this afternoon to pressure the airline to reverse its decision to close crew bases in Winnipeg and Halifax, slashing hundreds of jobs.
In Winnipeg, 300 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) took to the streets, saying they are not convinced Air Canada is losing as much money as it claims.
Another 150 people protested on Halifax's historic Grand Parade in front of city hall.
The airline -- along with carriers across the industry -- has complained of record losses due to soaring fuel prices and low passenger bookings.
"The union doesn't see it in that way. All of our flight attendants come back from their flights and all the planes are full, so Air Canada show us where you're losing money," Lesley Swann, CUPE president, told CTV's Canada AM.
"I think they're sort of grabbing onto the crisis, as they put it, on the oil prices and using it as an excuse to cut jobs."
In total, 630 flight attendants will lose their jobs by Nov. 1 as part of broader streamlining efforts announced June 17 to slash capacity by seven per cent and lay off up to 2,000 workers.
Though the Winnipeg and Halifax crew bases will be closed under the plan, bases in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal will remain.
However, Swann said the bases slated for closure are vital to the airline.
"Those base closures, Halifax and Winnipeg, are two centralized areas and these bases must remain open in order for the entire operation to run as smoothly as they can. Close those bases and Air Canada shuts down system-wide," she said.
Last week, the federal government denied a request by Air Canada for a waiver that would have allowed the company to lay off the flight attendants without the standard procedure of forming a joint union-company committee.
The committees are typically struck to minimize the impact of intended job cuts.
Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn rejected the request saying there were insufficient grounds for such a waiver.
Lisa Vivian Anthony, the local president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Halifax, called Blackburn's move "significant."
She told The Canadian Press that the union will be meeting with Air Canada on Thursday and Friday in a joint planning committee.
The government has offered the airline and the union access to mediators. Department officials have also been told to closely monitor the situation to ensure Air Canada employees are treated according to the requirements of the Canada Labour Code.
A representative of the airline told The Canadian Press the request was put forward in hopes the negotiations could take place under the framework of the collective agreement, rather than the Labour Code.
Blackburn had issued a warning to Air Canada, saying the request would be rejected if protections and supports in employee collective agreements weren't equal to or stronger than group termination provisions of the Canada Labour Code.
The code requires an employer to notify the minister 16 weeks ahead of time if it plans to lay off 50 or more workers within four weeks.
Air Canada has 24,000 employees.
With files from The Canadian Press
