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

Flight attendants plan to rally at four major Canadian airports today 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.

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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.

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.

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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 plan to rally at four airports Tuesday: Vancouver International, Calgary International Airport, Toronto-Pearson and Montreal-Trudeau.

Lesosky says the rally will be an information picket, and airport operations and flights will not be disrupted. 

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

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

CBC News ·