Latest news with #unpaidwork
CBC
20 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Air Canada flight attendants in Nova Scotia prepare for the picket line
The main issues for the union include wages and unpaid work for flight attendants. Gareth Hampshire has the story.
National Post
2 days ago
- Business
- National Post
CUPE NL Stands in Solidarity with Air Canada Flight Attendants
Article content ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador — CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador stands in solidarity with flight attendants employed by Air Canada and demands the government respect their right to strike. Article content 'It's absolutely disgraceful that so much necessary and vital work flight attendants do before and after each and every flight is unpaid,' said CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador President Sherry Hillier. 'No one should be working for free. Full stop.' Article content Flight attendants are only paid when the plane is moving, and work as many as 35 unpaid hours a week performing vital duties that ensure the safe and smooth operation of each flight. Now, instead of paying flight attendants for the work they do, Air Canada is threatening to lock out their employees and disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Canadians. Article content Our elected representatives must support workers' rights to free and fair negotiations and collective job action. These rights are protected under both federal and provincial legislation and have been affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada. If our lawmakers at the highest level have determined the right to strike to be 'indispensable,' Air Canada must respect that. Article content 'Air Canada is manufacturing a crisis instead of coming to the table and bargaining in good faith,' continued Hillier. 'It's clear they hope the federal government will step in just like they did with Canada Post and force flight attendants back to work. We can't let that happen. We need to stand with flight attendants, as we do with all workers, and protect our Charter guaranteed right to strike.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For more information, please contact: Article content Article content Sherry Hillier President, Article content Article content 709-765-2996 Article content
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Could federal legislation have eased a key sticking point in the Air Canada dispute?
Social Sharing Flight attendants poised to strike this week have previously asked the federal government to address one of their biggest grievances — unpaid work. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave Air Canada a 72-hour strike notice early Wednesday. In response, the carrier issued a lockout notice starting at 1:30 a.m. ET on Saturday and says it will begin cancelling flights on Thursday. CUPE represents more than 10,000 flight attendants who work for the major airline and its budget carrier Air Canada Rouge. The two sides have been negotiating a new collective agreement since March, and the union says the most contentious issues at the bargaining table are wages — which it says haven't kept up with inflation — and unpaid work. Flight attendants typically don't start getting paid until the plane is in motion and their compensation ends when the plane stops at the gate after landing — meaning they aren't paid for pre- and post-flight duties. Air Canada has proposed paying flight attendants 50 per cent of their hourly wage for work done on the ground, but the union is asking for 100 per cent. While it is a sticking point in the current labour dispute, flight attendants from a number of carriers have been calling on the federal government to make changes to the Canada Labour Code to address unpaid work. WATCH | Flight attendants rally at airports across Canada: Air Canada flight attendants rally in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal 2 days ago Hundreds of Air Canada flight attendants are rallying at Vancouver international Airport... As a potential strike looms. Today's demonstration is part of a national day of action to protest low pay and unpaid work. Last week, Air Canada flight attendants voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate. "It's not a huge ask, really. All people are asking for is to be paid for their time on the job," CUPE spokesperson Hugh Pouliot told CBC News. "It's a very problematic situation, not just for Air Canada flight attendants, but flight attendants across the board." Pouliot said flight attendants reached a "breaking point" due to ground delays experienced as Canadians slowly began flying again following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the Conservatives and NDP introduced bills last parliamentary session that would have changed the Labour Code to ensure flight attendants are paid for pre- and post-flight duties. But both bills died when the House was prorogued earlier this year. Pouliot said it's encouraging to see opposition parties supporting the changes, but said it's "tragic and confounding" that the Liberals haven't backed the move. "I think you would be looking at a fundamentally different situation at Air Canada right now if the Liberals — a year and a half ago — had decided to play ball with the other parties," he said. Wesley Lesosky, a flight attendant and president of CUPE's Air Canada component, told CBC News that he thinks the government ultimately needs to step in. "We feel it should be addressed through the government and it shouldn't be used as bargaining capital at the table," Lesosky told host Sarah Galashan. When asked by CBC News, a spokesperson from Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu's office didn't comment on whether the Liberals would support changes to the Labour Code to address flight attendants' concerns. But they encouraged Air Canada and CUPE to reach an agreement. "During the bargaining process, parties establish agreements on wages, working conditions and other employment terms. Mediators will remain available until a deal is reached. The minister is closely monitoring this situation and encouraged both parties to stay at the table until a deal is found," the spokesperson said in an email. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Conservative labour critic Kyle Seeback wrote a letter to Hajdu last week calling for the Liberals to make the Labour Code changes. "No other federally regulated worker would accept being on the job without being paid and neither should flight attendants. It's time to end this outdated and unfair practice," their letter reads. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner reiterated her party's stance. "As somebody who is a frequent flyer, I think they should be paid for [pre- and post-flight duties]," Rempel Garner told reporters on Parliament Hill. "I hope that the union and management can come to an agreement on this, but certainly the principles that were contained in that bill last year are things we stand behind as a party." The NDP announced Wednesday that it intends to reintroduce its own bill this fall. "Every hour worked should be an hour paid," interim NDP Leader Don Davies said in a statement. "The Liberals have done nothing to stop major airlines from exploiting their workers — most of whom are women. Instead, they handed those same airlines billions in taxpayer dollars. Workers deserve better." Delta Air Lines is one of the only major North American airlines that offers ground pay to its flight attendants, paying them at half their hourly rate for 40 to 50 minutes of boarding time depending on the destination and aircraft. Pouliot noted that Porter Airlines started paying flight attendants for some boarding duties this year while some smaller carriers — such as Pascan Aviation — pay full salary for ground duties. But he cautioned that the issue of unpaid work could spill over into future labour negotiations with other Canadian airlines. "If the government is interested in labour peace in the airline sector, then this is absolutely a priority," Pouliot said. "To whatever extent it's resolved with Air Canada, it is going to be an issue for WestJet. It will be an issue for Flare. It will be an issue for Air Transat. It will be an issue for all of the air carriers in the country, because at every single one of these airlines flight attendants are beyond exhausted with working so many hours for free. It's going to stop one way or another."
National Post
4 days ago
- Business
- National Post
CUPE : Air Canada no longer wants to negotiate
Article content TORONTO — Statement from Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, on Air Canada's proposal to end contract negotiations: Article content After nine months of the company delaying at the bargaining table on the fundamental issues – unpaid work and poverty wages – the union asked for and received an unprecedented 99.7% strike mandate from its membership. Flight attendants turned out by the hundreds at airports across the country for a powerful showing of solidarity for their August 11 Day of Action. Article content Air Canada has seen how determined and united flight attendants are to end unpaid work and win a real cost-of-living increase to wages. Article content Now, Air Canada has decided they no longer want to negotiate. They want to go to arbitration, rather than stay at the bargaining table and bargain a new contract. Article content Everyone knows the best deals are negotiated at the bargaining table, not handed down by an outside third-party. Then why does Air Canada want the union to agree to arbitration? Article content First, arbitrators rely on precedent and the status quo to make their determinations. But Air Canada flight attendants are trying to break the status quo by ending the historic abuse of unpaid work in this industry. Air Canada wants an arbitrator to do their dirty work for them to keep the status quo intact. Article content Second, an arbitrator's determination would be final. Members would not get a chance to vote on it. Air Canada wants to go to arbitration because they want to take away our members' democratic voice. Article content The union has declined the company's proposal to preserve the exploitative status quo and take away our members' voice. Article content The Air Canada Component of CUPE remains at the bargaining table, ready to negotiate. Article content We have always been available to negotiate. The union was available to continue discussions while it sought a strike mandate – the company never reached out. Article content With respect to Air Canada's latest offer: it is below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage – and still leaves flight attendants unpaid for all hours of work. Article content Currently, Air Canada flight attendants perform hours of critical safety-related duties for free. The company has offered to begin compensating flight attendants for some of these duties – but only at 50% of their hourly rate, and the company is still refusing to compensate flight attendants for time spent responding to medical emergencies, fires, evacuations, and other safety and security-related issues on the ground. Article content Meanwhile, on wages, Air Canada's offer is below market value, below inflation, and below minimum wage. Article content Air Canada has offered 8% in the first year as a one-time catch-up. Meanwhile, flight attendants have taken a 9% cut to their real wages due to inflation over the course of their last contract since 2015. This offer does not even keep up with inflation – it is, in effect, a pay cut. Air Canada's offer is below inflation. Air Canada is using misleading 'kitchen-sink' figures to make the public believe that flight attendants who rely on food banks and second and third jobs are the ones being greedy. In reality, the company has offered a 17.2% wage increase over four years. Even in year four of Air Canada's offer, in 2028, Air Canada flight attendants would earn less than competitor airlines in Canada earn today. Air Canada's offer is below market value. Even with the 'best offer' that Air Canada can make, an entry-level Air Canada flight attendant working full-time will still earn less than federal minimum wage. Junior Air Canada flight attendants working full-time (75 credit hours per month) currently earn $1,952 per month pre-taxes. With Air Canada's first-year catch-up increase of 8%, their earnings would increase to $2,108.16 per month. Meanwhile, a worker earning federal minimum wage at $17.75 per hour would earn $2,840.00 per month pre-taxes. Air Canada's offer is below minimum wage. Article content Air Canada has posted billions in profits in recent years. They can afford to pay flight attendants fairly without raising costs for the public. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
'Until the wheels move, we are not paid,' says Air Canada flight attendant
Henly Larden, an Air Canada flight attendant and the vice-president of CUPE 4094, says flight attendants work an average of 35 unpaid hours per month related to duties performed during boarding and deplaning. This comes as Air Canada flight attendants rallied outside major airports on Monday as part of a national day of action to protest low pay and unpaid work.
