Labor Actions By Both Sides Squelched By Canadian Government

Air Canada pilots staged what appeared to be a "sick out" over the weekend, causing some flights to be cancelled or delayed. The move came on top of some weather issues and an unrelated fire at the carrier's Toronto hub which also caused problems for the airline.

An Air Canada spokesman said that an unusually high number of pilots called in sick over the weekend, which was certainly responsible for some of the delays and cancellations. The CBC reports that the airline had asked for help from the Canada Industrial Relations Board to restore normal operations.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzgerald told the Toronto Sun that "While Air Canada supports the right of its employees to book off when they are unwell or otherwise unfit to work, we cannot condone such activities as part of industrial action to disrupt our operations and we have asked the CIRB (Canadian Industrial Relations Board) to intervene."

The ongoing labor dispute had lead to threats of a strike by ground crews and a lockout of pilots at the airline. Last week, the CIRB said that the airline was too important to the national economy to allow it to shut down due to a labor dispute, and referred the two sides to arbitration.

FMI: www.cirb-ccri.gc.ca/index_eng.asp