加航航空乘務員工會於8月17日宣佈拒絕政府命令將繼續罷工

2025-08-19

近日,加拿大航空(Air Canada)勞資衝突再度升溫,儘管聯邦政府下達強制仲裁命令並要求復工,加航航空乘務員工會(CUPE)於8月17日宣佈將繼續罷工,堅持不撤離崗位。工會指出,政府的命令「明顯違憲」,侵犯約一萬名空乘人員的憲章權利,強調這類行政干預無法取代對勞工合理訴求的正當討論。CUPE表明,工會的核心目標是要求加航重返談判桌,針對薪酬長期落後於通脹、工作時間過長且未得到相應補償等問題進行協商,以保障員工的基本權益和勞動尊嚴。

此次罷工對加航運營造成嚴重影響。原定於周日晚間恢復的航班因罷工被迫取消,每天大約有700個航班停飛,逾十萬名旅客被迫滯留機場,行程受到嚴重干擾。聯邦政府在罷工開始僅12小時後便下達干預命令,立即引發工會強烈不滿,指責政府偏袒公司利益,忽視勞工合理要求。工會方面更指出,政府的介入雖暫時緩解了航班停飛問題,但並未解決勞資之間的根本矛盾,反而可能加劇勞工的不信任與對立情緒。

專家則對加航長期依賴政府干預以解決勞資爭議表示批評,認為這反映出公司缺乏真誠談判的意願,也暴露加拿大航空業在勞資管理上的制度性問題。工會方面宣布,將在多個機場展開全國性聲援行動,藉此吸引社會輿論關注,增加對加航和政府施壓的籌碼。這場勞資糾紛不僅涉及經濟運營問題,更牽動員工權益、公司治理以及政府干預權限的敏感議題,後續發展將受到社會各界高度關注。

Recently, labor disputes at Air Canada have escalated once again. Despite the federal government issuing a mandatory arbitration order and demanding a return to work, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced on August 17 that flight attendants would continue their strike, refusing to leave their posts. The union stated that the government’s order is “clearly unconstitutional,” infringing on the charter rights of approximately 10,000 flight attendants, emphasizing that administrative intervention cannot replace legitimate discussions of workers’ reasonable demands. CUPE stressed that its core goal is to bring Air Canada back to the negotiating table to address issues such as wages lagging behind inflation, excessive unpaid work hours, and other key concerns, thereby safeguarding employees’ basic rights and labor dignity.

The strike has caused significant disruption to Air Canada’s operations. Flights originally scheduled to resume on Sunday evening were canceled, with around 700 flights grounded daily, leaving over 100,000 passengers stranded and severely affecting travel plans. The federal government issued its intervention order just 12 hours after the strike began, prompting strong dissatisfaction from the union, which accused the government of siding with corporate interests while ignoring workers’ legitimate demands. The union also pointed out that although government intervention temporarily eased the flight cancellations, it did not resolve the underlying labor-management conflict and could instead exacerbate mistrust and tensions among employees.

Experts have criticized Air Canada for relying on government intervention to resolve labor disputes over the long term, arguing that this reflects a lack of genuine willingness to negotiate and exposes systemic issues in labor management within the Canadian airline industry. The union announced plans to launch nationwide solidarity actions at multiple airports to attract public attention and increase pressure on both Air Canada and the government. This labor dispute not only involves economic and operational concerns but also raises sensitive issues regarding employee rights, corporate governance, and government authority, making its subsequent developments a matter of significant public interest.