As union members demonstrated steps away, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt on Friday congratulated Air Canada employees and management on averting a strike while backing away from her earlier remarks about rewriting the Canada Labour Code.
"The economy remains this government's top priority," Raitt told reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons.
"I want to congratulate Air Canada and CUPE for successfully negotiating a resolution that didn't have an impact on employees, that didn't have an impact on the travelling public and didn't have an impact on the national economy."
Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees agreed to binding arbitration to settle their contract dispute on Thursday, ending a tense stand-off that saw the airline's 6,800 flight attendants reject two consecutive offers.
The decision to use binding arbitration should lead to an agreement within a few weeks. It also side-steps hints earlier this week from Raitt that the government would intervene, perhaps by rewriting federal labour rules.
On Friday, Raitt backed away from those remarks, saying she was speaking in broad terms and is "very content with the Labour Code working as it is."
CUPE led a noon-time protest with other unions on Parliament Hill, complaining that the Conservatives have fallen out of the government's traditionally neutral stance on labour relations.
Interim NDP Leader Nicole Turmel spoke at the protest, charging that the Conservative government "doesn't listen to workers" and that it should "stop interfering in negotiations."
The Ottawa demonstration follows a string of rallies that have already taken place across the country, including at the constituency offices of Raitt and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Asked to comment on the rallies, Raitt conceded that CUPE "doesn't like the way the process unfolded this time."
"But at the end of the day they concluded their own deal," she added. "So the process did work. It did take more time and took some help and facilitation by us and putting them at table -- but it did happen. It shows the system can and does work."
Hearings are to begin Oct. 28 and binding arbitration is to be made by Nov. 7. The labour board will appoint an arbitrator if the two sides can't decide on one.
Both parties also agreed to withdraw unfair labour practice complaints filed by Air Canada on Oct. 12 and by CUPE on Sept 19.
Paul Moist, CUPE's national president, said Ottawa's threats of back-to-work legislation and asking the labour board to take away the workers' right to strike have made it too difficult to reach an agreement through negotiation.
"It's got the semblance of two-on-one -- it's the company and the government versus the union," Moist said Friday on CTV's Power Play.
The government's handling of the Air Canada labour dispute "will ultimately worsen labour relations in Canada because they're poking their nose into a place where most governments don't go," he added.
"The entire process was turned on its head by the musing -- before bargaining was concluded -- of government intervention."
Duncan Dee, Air Canada's chief operating officer, expressed hope the two sides could finally move forward.
"Air Canada is pleased to have a process in place whereby we can avoid any disruption of service and eliminate uncertainty for our customers," Dee said in a statement.
Attendants represented by CUPE have complained that the airline has forced them to swallow too many concessions over the years.
Wages, working conditions and pension changes are sticking points, along with Air Canada's plans to launch a discount carrier.
The flight attendants voted to strike but were barred from walking off the job after Raitt referred the case to the quasi-judicial labour board.
With files from The Canadian Press
