OTTAWA - Federal Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn is reviewing Air Canada's (TSX:AC.B, TSX:ACE.B) request to be exempted from part of the Labour Code in connection with its decision to close its Halifax and Winnipeg bases for flight attendants as part of a plan to lay off up to 2,000 employees.

"If protections and supports provided to affected employees by a collective agreement are not equal or stronger than, provided the group termination provisions of the Canada Labour Code, there would not be grounds for granting a waiver," Blackburn said in a letter to the airline.

Air Canada has asked for a waiver from developing a so-called adjustment plan with employees as required under the Labour Code.

Without the waiver, the airline would be required to create a joint committee with employees that would work to minimize the impact of the layoffs.

Flight attendants in Halifax are fighting a move by the airline to shut down its only Atlantic base for in-flight workers, saying the closure will put passengers in the lurch.

The union representing the flight attendants says that if the workers aren't based in Halifax, planes will be dependent on staff flown in from other cities and cause more delays and cancellations.

The move will leave 187 flight attendants in Halifax without a job effective Nov. 1, while some of those affected have the option of bumping less senior workers elsewhere.

The cuts also affect 145 flight attendants in Winnipeg and 300 in Vancouver.

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