After months of stalled negotiations, 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday morning. The federal government stepped in hours later to order binding arbitration, forcing an end to the strike — or so they thought.

Air Canada said Sunday it was suspending its plans to return to work until Monday. The airline’s decision follows a decision by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents about 10,000 flight attendants, to defy an order by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to return to work.

Air Canada suspended plans to resume flights Sunday after striking flight attendants refused a government order to return to work.

Canadian Labor Minister Patty Hajdu said on Friday that she met jointly with Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), urging both sides to work harder and remain at the negotiating table to reach a deal and avert a potential strike.

Air Canada had suspended all operations after more than 10,000 of the airline's flight attendants went on strike after a deadline to reach a deal passed

Air Canada wants to reinforce the gender wage gap by forcing Air Canada flight attendants – 70% of whom identify as women – to accept a wage offer less than one-third what Air Canada offered its pilots less than a year ago.