Business
Air Canada strike: Government ends flight attendants’ walkout, services to resume but cancellations linger – Times of India
Air Canada will restart flights on Sunday evening after the Canadian government intervened to end a strike by its 10,000 flight attendants that left more than 100,000 travellers stranded during the peak summer season.The airline, Canada’s largest, said it will take several days before operations return to normal and warned that some flights would remain cancelled over the next seven to 10 days until schedules stabilise.Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered attendants back to work less than 12 hours after they walked off the job at 1 a.m. on Saturday, citing the broader economic impact, AP reported. “Now is not the time to take risks with the economy,” Hajdu said, pointing to the unprecedented tariffs the US has imposed on Canada. The dispute has been referred to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which extended the current collective agreement until a new one is decided by arbitration.The walkout had paralysed operations of the carrier, which runs nearly 700 flights daily. The shutdown was affecting about 130,000 passengers a day. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said Air Canada had cancelled 671 flights by Saturday afternoon, following 199 cancellations on Friday. Another 96 flights scheduled for Sunday were already suspended.The union had rejected Air Canada’s earlier request for government-directed arbitration, escalating the conflict. The government previously forced two major railroads into arbitration during a strike last year, a move unions challenged in court, arguing it weakened labour’s bargaining power. In this case, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed Ottawa’s intervention, and the Business Council of Canada had also urged binding arbitration.Hajdu stressed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is “not anti-union,” but added it was clear both sides were at an impasse.Air Canada announced that passengers affected by cancellations would be eligible for full refunds through its website or mobile app. It also promised to arrange alternative travel with other Canadian and foreign airlines “where possible,” but cautioned that immediate rebooking could not be guaranteed as flights on other carriers were already full during the busy summer season.The airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have been negotiating for nearly eight months without success. Pay remains the most contentious issue. Air Canada said its latest proposal offered a 38% increase in overall compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, a package that “would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.”The union disagreed, arguing that the proposed 8% raise in the first year fell short of addressing inflation and raised concerns about the unpaid work flight attendants perform when aircraft are not in the air.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a fresh increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), raising the cost for both domestic consumers and commercial users.
According to the notification issued, the LPG price has been increased by Rs7.39 per kilogram, setting the new rate at Rs209 per kg for December. As a result, the price of a domestic LPG cylinder has risen by Rs87.21, bringing the new price to Rs2,466.10.
In November, the price of LPG stood at Rs201 per kg, while the domestic cylinder was priced at Rs2,378.89.
The latest price hike is expected to put additional pressure on households already grappling with rising living costs nationwide.
Business
Private sector data: Over 2 lakh private companies closed in 5 years; govt flags monitoring for suspicious cases – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: The government on Monday said that over the past five years, more than two lakh private companies have been closed in India.According to data provided by Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, a total of 2,04,268 private companies were shut down between 2020-21 and 2024-25 due to amalgamation, conversion, dissolution or being struck off from official records under the Companies Act, 2013.Regarding the rehabilitation of employees from these closed companies, the minister said there is currently no proposal before the government, as reported by PTI. In the same period, 1,85,350 companies were officially removed from government records, including 8,648 entities struck off till July 16 this fiscal year. Companies can be removed from records if they are inactive for long periods or voluntarily after fulfilling regulatory requirements.On queries about shell companies and their potential use in money laundering, Malhotra highlighted that the term “shell company” is not defined under the Companies Act, 2013. However, he added that whenever suspicious instances are reported, they are shared with other government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department for monitoring.A major push to remove inactive companies took place in 2022-23, when 82,125 companies were struck off during a strike-off drive by the corporate affairs ministry.The minister also highlighted the government’s broader policy to simplify and rationalize the tax system. “It is the stated policy of the government to gradually phase out exemptions and deductions while rationalising tax rates to create a simple, transparent, and equitable tax regime,” he said. He added that several reforms have been undertaken to promote investment and ease of doing business, including substantial reductions in corporate tax rates for existing and new domestic companies.
Pakistan’s textile exports surged to $6.4 billion during the first four months of the 2025-26 fiscal year, marking the highest trade volume for the sector in this period.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), value-added textile sectors were key contributors to the growth.
Knitwear exports reached $1.9 billion, while ready-made garments contributed $1.4 billion.
Significant increases were observed across several commodities: cotton yarn exports rose 7.74% to $238.9 million, and raw cotton exports jumped 100%, reaching $2.6 million from zero exports the previous year.
Other notable gains included tents, canvas, and tarpaulins, up 32.34% to $53.48 million, while ready-made garments increased 5.11% to $1.43 billion.
Exports of made-up textile articles, excluding towels and bedwear, rose 4.17%, totaling $274.75 million.
The report also mentioned that the growth in textile exports is a result of improved global demand and stability in the value of the Pakistani rupee.
UK budget mildly deflationary; debt to climb past 106%: Fitch
OGRA Announces LPG Price Increase for December – SUCH TV
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