Union Not Satisfied with Unpaid Work Probe

A letter from Wesley Lesosky, President, Airline Division Council of Presidents & President, Air Canada Component of CUPE to federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu outlines the union’s dissatisfaction with the government probe into unpaid work by flight attendants. 

At issue are the airlines’ submissions of how wages are calculated. According to the airlines, flight attendants do not earn less than minimum wage for the hours they work. The way they have calculated this, according to the union, is disingenuous and fails to show the whole story.

A federal probe was launched following the Air Canada flight attendants’ strike last summer. One of the sticking points the strike hoped to address was the issue of unpaid work. Flight attendants are paid using a credit system with the hourly wages generally based on flying time, not pre-boarding, de-planing or waiting during flight delays. 

Related: Feds Launch Probe into Unpaid Work in the Airline Industry

In February, as Phase One of the probe concluded, the minister concluded that more information was needed. Hajdu's department said it did not find evidence that compensation practices in the airline sector fall short of labour standards, however it did state that compensation practices for many part-time and entry-level flight attendants warranted "closer examination."

Part of Phase Two entailed having the airlines perform a self-audit. The letter to Minister Hajdu from CUPE states “The airlines’ self-audits fail to properly account for the realities of flight attendants’ working conditions and compensation structures. As a result, they significantly underestimate the hours flight attendants spend at work and at the disposal of their employer, while overstating compliance with the Canada Labour Code.”  

Hajdu’s office told the Canadian Press “Nobody should work for free in this country. The allegations of unpaid work in the airline industry are deeply concerning, and the government has been clear: we will get to the bottom of this.” Unions and airlines remain free to submit additional information pertinent to the probe, it added.

For their part, the Union believes the current approach taken by the airlines, and accepted under the existing interpretation of the Code, “fails to reflect the true nature of flight attendants’ work and risks legitimizing ongoing unpaid labour in the industry,” and urges the minister to “take meaningful action to address unpaid work in the airline industry and ensure that flight attendants receive the full protections guaranteed under the Canada Labour Code.”

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