Air Canada flight attendants hold controversial wage vote

"Nearly three weeks after flight attendants went on strike against Canada's largest airline, Air Canada workers are voting on a contract to resolve the dispute, which galvanised the country's labour movement. Roughly 10,500 flight attendants launched a three-day strike on August 16, during the country's peak month for air travel. After a day on picket lines, Ottawa ordered them back to work but union leaders refused, risking jail and fines."

"The dispute is estimated to have cost the airline as much as 300 million Canadian dollars, and cancelled flights for a half-million travellers. It was the first time any union has defied a long-obscure industrial peace clause in Canada's 40-year-old labour code one that's been used to end strikes a half-dozen times in just the past year. But there is growing discontent over the tentative contract reached between their union and the airline, according to rank-and-file employees and labour analysts."

"This came about under quite a bit of duress, said Oliver Cooper, an Air Canada service director in Vancouver who started as a flight attendant with the airline nine years ago. We haven't really freely negotiated our contract. We had the threats of jail time for our leaders. We had threats of fines for the union. It shouldn't have to come to that."

Nearly three weeks after flight attendants went on strike, roughly 10,500 Air Canada cabin crew launched a three-day walkout on August 16 during the peak travel month. After one day on picket lines, Ottawa ordered workers back to their jobs but union leaders initially refused, risking jail and fines. The tentative agreement reached on August 19 is now being voted on by union members, with results expected after voting ends Saturday. The dispute is estimated to have cost the airline as much as 300 million Canadian dollars and cancelled flights for roughly half a million travellers. Rank-and-file employees and labour analysts say growing discontent stems from the contract's contents and the government-imposed duress, including threats of jail time and fines.

Read at www.aljazeera.com