The airline said it has been negotiating for eight months, offered binding arbitration and last week proposed a deal including a 38 per cent pay rise over four years. The offer was rejected and the union issued a strike notice
Air Canada says it will lock out its flight attendants this weekend after their union served notice of a strike, setting the stage for a full shutdown of operations if the dispute is not resolved.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the airline’s 9,500 flight attendants, said 99.7 per cent of members voted to strike. The union has pressed for pay during all hours worked, cost-of-living protections and wage increases it says are in line with industry standards.
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One major point of contention between the union and the airline is unpaid work hours. Staff is currently compensated at an hourly rate, but only for the time that the plane is in the air, viz. from take-off to landing.
However, the flight attendants spend a lot of time during boarding safety checks and deplaning that they are not paid for. CUPE wants this to change.
“If you factor in the total time worked, you’re essentially earning less than federal minimum wage if you’re a junior flight attendant,” CUPE spokesperson Pouliot told The Globe and Mail.
“For the past nine months, we have put forward solid, data-driven prop