Flight attendants rally at 4 major Canadian airports to protest unpaid work

Flight attendants rallied at four major Canadian airports Tuesday over what they say are unfair working conditions that keep them on the clock without being paid.

CUPE, which represents about 18,500 flight attendants across the country, says much of the time that they're present for their employers and in uniform, they're doing it for free.

The union says it leads to flight attendants working on average 35 hours each month without compensation.

"We get paid pretty much anytime the plane's in motion," said Wesley Lesosky, a flight attendant with Air Canada and president of CUPE's airline division.

The union says that means there are many jobs flight attendants do without pay.

"All the safety-related stuff, all the service preparation, boarding, deplaning, waits … all that kind of stuff," Lesosky added.

"So anytime you're required to show up in uniform, we're just asking to be paid for that."

CUPE flight attendants for Air Transat are currently negotiating a new collective agreement. Agreements with several other airlines, including WestJet and Air Canada, are set to expire in coming years.

Lesosky says discussions on new agreements and inflationary pressures putting the squeeze on flight attendants make this the time to change what he calls an unfair system.

"When you show up in uniform, you should be proud to wear that uniform knowing you're being compensated," he said. "When you go to work, you go there to get paid."

To raise the issue with the travelling public, CUPE flight attendants rallied at four airports Tuesday: Vancouver International, Calgary International Airport, Toronto-Pearson and Montreal-Trudeau.

Lesosky says the rally is an "information picket," and airport operations and flights will not be disrupted. The union representative said he was happy with the turnout across the country Tuesday.

Rena Kisfalvi, the secretary-treasurer of the union's airline division, told CBC News in Toronto that the practice of not compensating flight attendants for their time was outdated.

"We are no longer interested in not being paid for the work that we do," she said. "It's been seven decades where flight attendants are not paid for all of the time that they spend on the aircraft, on the ground, taking care of our passengers.

"The buck stops here today."

CBC News asked the National Airlines Council of Canada to comment, but the industry group deferred to member airlines.

In a statement, a WestJet spokesperson said they respected their employees' rights to participate in the protest.

"Regarding rates of pay, these rates were bargained to take into account a credit hour system that provides wages on a basis other than duty time worked, including pre-and post-flight duties," they said in a statement.

"The WestJet Group remains committed to listening to and addressing concerns raised by our valued cabin crew members through the bargaining process."

A spokesperson for Air Transat also said the company offers a compensatory hourly rate "in line with current industry standards."

"We will be listening and open during the negotiation meetings scheduled between the parties in the coming months," they said when asked about the rallies. "For now, the current agreement continues to apply."

CBC asked two other national carriers for comment but received no response by publication time.