(LifeSiteNews) – A union working on behalf of Canadian pilots, flight attendants and other aviation workers who were persecuted for refusing COVID shots said an arbitrator awarded financial compensation to those who were “harmed” by the nation’s largest airline’s vaccine policy.

In a statement posted September 3, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District 140, said “we are pleased to report another significant victory in our ongoing grievance against Air Canada’s implementation of its vaccine policy.”

The union said that it has “secured an Arbitration ruling in favour of members who were not accommodated back into the workplace, despite holding valid exemptions.”

“The Arbitrator has awarded these affected members human rights damages as financial compensation. This ruling recognizes the harm caused by Air Canada’s failure to respect the rights of these members and sends a strong message that such actions will not go unchecked.”

The union said that the arbitrator’s ruling is a “clear and important win for our membership and for the principles of fairness and accommodation in the workplace.”

Despite the win, the union noted that the grievance process “is not yet complete,” and that the union will now “advance to the final stage, where an Arbitrator will render a decision on behalf of those members whose exemption requests were denied outright.”

The group is known as Free to Fly, which has advocated for affected workers discriminated against for refusing to go along with the COVID-19 jab policy.

“A significant victory, with a ruling against @AirCanada’s vaccine policy,” the group posted on X.

“This is a win for numerous principled Free to Fly aviation professionals, who were not accommodated and ended up out of work!”

Free to Fly noted that “An Arbitrator has awarded human rights damages as financial compensation.”

Free to Fly, which is made up of pilots and airline workers who lost their jobs for not complying with COVID vaccine mandates, is in a class-action lawsuit against the federal government seeking full compensation over its vaccine mandate for aviation.

There have been other legal victories. Earlier this year, Canada’s second-largest airline was ordered by a judge to compensate one of its employees who refused to take the COVID shot and was “wrongfully terminated.”

In October 2021, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced unprecedented COVID-19 jab mandates for all federal workers and those in the transportation sector, saying the unjabbed would no longer be able to travel by air, boat, or train, both domestically and internationally.

This policy resulted in thousands losing their jobs or being placed on leave for non-compliance.

Many pilots and airline workers lost their jobs as a result but have fought back via lawsuits.

LifeSiteNews has published an extensive amount of research on the dangers of the experimental COVID mRNA jabs that include heart damage and blood clots.

The mRNA shots have also been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children, and all have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies.