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Flight attendants ask Air Canada ( ACDVF ) to return to bargaining

table

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Government ordered binding arbitration to break contract

impasse

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Flight attendants seek pay for ground duties, similar to

some US

airlines

By Allison Lampert, Promit Mukherjee and Gertrude

Chavez-Dreyfuss

MONTREAL, Aug 18 (Reuters) -

Air Canada's ( ACDVF ) fleet of hundreds of planes remained

grounded on Monday morning after striking flight attendants

refused a government-backed order to get back to work and called

on the airline to return to the bargaining table.

The carrier, which normally carries 130,000 people daily and

is part of the global Star Alliance of airlines, had planned to

start ramping up operations on Sunday evening, after a labor

relations board ordered the union to return to work and start

binding arbitration.

The union said no, setting up an almost unprecedented

standoff with the Canadian government, which had requested the

back-to-work order.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents

10,000 Air Canada ( ACDVF ) cabin crew, had pushed for a negotiated

solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the

airline.

The attendants are striking for better wages and to be paid

for work on the ground, such as boarding passengers. They

currently are only paid when planes are moving, sparking some

vocal support from Canadians on social media.

CUPE invited Air Canada ( ACDVF ) back to the table to "negotiate a

fair deal," calling the order to end its strike

unconstitutional. The airline said it would delay plans to

restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening and

described the union as illegally defying the labor board.

The government's options to end the strike now include

asking courts to enforce the order to return to work and seeking

an expedited hearing. The minority government could also try to

pass legislation that would need the support of political rivals

and approval in both houses of parliament, which are on break

until September 15.

"The government will be very reticent to be too heavy-handed

because in Canada the Supreme Court has ruled that governments

have to be very careful when they take away the right to strike,

even for public sector workers that may be deemed essential,"

said Dionne Pohler, professor of dispute resolution at Cornell

University's Industrial and Labor Relations School.

Another option is to encourage bargaining, Pohler said.

The government did not respond to requests for comment.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government

moved to end the strike by asking the Canada Industrial

Relations Board to order binding arbitration. The CIRB issued

the order, which Air Canada ( ACDVF ) had sought, and unionized flight

attendants opposed.

The previous government, under former Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes

that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is highly unusual

for a union to defy a CIRB order.

The CUPE said its rejection was unprecedented when such

an order was made according to rules, known as Section 107, that

the government invoked in this case.

Travelers at Toronto Pearson International Airport over the

weekend said they were confused and frustrated about when they

would be able to fly.

Italian Francesca Tondini, 50, sitting at the Toronto

airport, said she supported the union even though she had no

idea when she would be able to return home.

"They are right," she said with a smile, pointing at the

striking attendants.

The dispute between cabin crews and Air Canada ( ACDVF ) hinges on the

way airlines compensate flight attendants. Most, including Air

Canada ( ACDVF ), have traditionally paid them only when planes are in

motion.

In their latest contract negotiations, flight attendants in

both Canada and the United States have sought compensation for

hours worked, including for tasks such as boarding passengers.

New labor agreements at American Airlines ( AAL ) and Alaska

Airlines legally require carriers to start the clock for

paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding.

American's flight attendants are now also compensated for

some hours between flights. United Airlines' cabin

crews, who voted down a tentative contract deal last month, also

want a similar provision.