𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants that are on strike will not return to work on Sunday, defying a government order to resume operations by this afternoon, according to their union.

“We will be challenging this blatantly unconstitutional order that violates the charter rights of 10,000 flight attendants, 70 percent of whom are women, and 100 percent of whom are forced to do hours of unpaid work by their employer every time they come to work,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement to media outlets. “We remain on strike. We demand a fair, negotiated contract and to be compensated for all hours worked.”

Air Canada, whose collective agreement with the flight attendants expired in March, said earlier Sunday the Canada Industrial Relations Board had directed the carrier to resume operations and have the striking workers return to their posts by 2 p.m. Eastern time.

The independent board’s move came after federal labor minister Patty Hajdu intervened in the dispute on Saturday, ordering the board to use binding arbitration to end the dispute.

In a statement, Air Canada said the union was “illegally” defying the government return-to-work orders, and that approximately 240 flights that had been scheduled to resume on Sunday had been cancelled.

“The airline will resume flights as of tomorrow evening,” Air Canada added.

The Independent has contacted Hajdu for comment.

The union, which went on strike early Saturday after turning down a request from the airline to enter into government-directed arbitration the day before, was sharply critical of the government’s push for binding arbitration.

Canadian Union of Public Employees National Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick called the step a “blatant betrayal” of workers’ rights and accused the Liberal government of tipping the scales towards Air Canada.

“The government’s decision to intervene on behalf of an already wildly profitable employer, while a predominantly female workforce fights tooth and nail for a path out of poverty, is not just unjust, it’s a disgraceful misuse of power that reeks of systemic bias and corporate favoritism,” she said in a statement.

“I don’t think anyone’s in the mood to go back to work,” Lillian Speedie, vice-president of CUPE Local 4092, told the CBC outside Toronto Pearson International Airport on Sunday.

“To legislate us back to work 12 hours after we started? I’m sorry, snowstorms have shut down Air Canada for longer than we were allowed to strike.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.