On Tuesday, August 19, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, announced that a tentative agreement had been reached with the airline following a four day strike. The tentative deal secures at least one hour of ground pay before each flight, which was a key sticking point in the strike.
“Unpaid work is over”
One of the workers’ main grievances is that Air Canada flight attendants receive no pay for the work they perform prior to takeoff. Ground pay would compensate flight attendants for work performed while on the ground, such as carrying out safety checks and helping passengers, both before boarding and after deplaning.
The issue of ground pay is a key struggle for airline workers across North America, where it is common practice to not pay workers for labor done before takeoff. In the United States, flight attendants at United Airlines rejected a USD 6 billion tentative labor agreement because it failed to include pay for time spent on the ground before boarding and after deplaning.
“Unpaid work is over,” CUPE said in a statement announcing the tentative agreement, celebrating “achieving transformational change for our industry after a historic fight to affirm our Charter rights.” In Canada, Charter rights refer to the rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter protects workers’ ability to form unions, bargain collectively, and pursue workplace improvements together.
Less than 12 hours into the strike, the Canadian government stepped in to resolve the dispute between Air Canada and the flight attendants’ union by attempting to crush the strike. Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, mandating binding arbitration and directing employees to return to work. CUPE denounced this move, accusing the government of “crushing flight attendants’ Charter rights.” The strike continued in spite of the Jobs Minister’s order.
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