Air Canada strike ends as tentative deal reached with flight attendants

(AFP): Air Canada flight attendants ended their strike Tuesday after reaching a tentative deal with the carrier, which said it will work to restore full service for its 130,000 daily passengers.

Roughly 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job after midnight Saturday, insisting Air Canada had failed to address their demands for higher pay and compensation for unpaid ground work, including during boarding.

The attendants' union defied two back-to-work orders from a regulatory tribunal, forcing Air Canada to roll back plans to partially restore service.

But after resuming talks on Monday evening, the union said it had reached a viable deal with the airline.

"The strike has ended. We have a tentative agreement we will bring forward to you," the Canadian Union of Public Employees' (CUPE) Air Canada branch said in a statement.

CUPE instructed members to "fully cooperate with resumption of operations."

Air Canada said in a statement that it would "gradually restart its operations" after reaching an agreement with CUPE through a mediator.