(Montreal) The 2,100 Air Transat flight attendants based at the Montreal and Toronto airports have just issued a strike mandate.

The mandate is one of pressure tactics which can go as far as an unlimited general strike; it was adopted in a proportion of 99.8%, reports the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the FTQ, which represents them.

A strike could therefore theoretically be called on January 3. The union could resort to other, lighter means of pressure beforehand.

The parties are in conciliation and several meetings are still planned, indicated in an interview Dominic Levasseur, president of the Air Transat component of CUPE. He therefore wants to give conciliation every chance of bearing fruit.

“We still have five conciliation meetings, but we wanted to have a strong strike mandate to be able to return to the negotiating table and advance our conciliation more quickly,” explained Mr. Levasseur.

The collective agreement expired in October 2022 and around thirty negotiation meetings have taken place since last April.

Salary is the main point in dispute, but also issues such as unpaid hours at departure and reception, as well as health and safety issues, such as hours and fatigue, he said. .

A possible strike, although still hypothetical, could therefore have repercussions on travelers during the holidays. “There are a lot of people who leave during the holidays on the 31st, so that could have an impact on their return,” if the strike were actually called, admits Mr. Levasseur.

“I want to reassure our passengers that the objective is not to disrupt their vacations or travel plans, but it is finally to be respected,” he added.