Flight attendants say they aren’t paid for boarding and other duties — and they want that changed

Union officials representing flight attendants are calling for legislative changes to end what one of them calls “rampant abuse of unpaid work.”

Representatives from the airline division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) — which represents 18,000 flight attendants — held a press conference alongside the NDP on Thursday to demand better compensation for flight attendants.

Wesley Lesosky, a flight attendant and president of the CUPE air division, said flight attendants don’t start getting paid until the plane is in motion and their compensation ends when the plane stops at the gate after landing.

“We’re here today talking about an industry practice that CEOs of our airlines probably prefer to keep in the dark. And that is the rampant abuse of unpaid work in our industry,” he said.

“Many of my members are working grueling full-time schedules but still making less than $30,000 a year. That’s simply unconscionable.”

Lesosky said that, on average, flight attendants do 35 hours of unpaid work per month. That includes duties such as overseeing the boarding and unboarding process.

“I can’t think of another line of work where this would be acceptable, but for Canada’s multi-billion dollar airlines it’s business as usual,” he said.

Lesosky called on the government to amend the labour code to crack down on unpaid work.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who joined Thursday’s press conference, said he supports the call for labour code reform.

“We want to send a clear message to the government — this is wrong and we need you to fix it,” Singh said.

NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo pointed out that most flight attendants are women.

“Unpaid work won’t fly,” Zarrillo told the press conference.

Union agreements up for negotiation next year

Union agreements with two of Canada’s largest airlines — Air Canada and WestJet — are up for renegotiation next year.

Lesosky said a strike is not something they’re considering at this moment.

“We definitely want to bargain with our employers and follow the correct course of action,” he said.

Earlier this month, the federal government held a “National Air Accessibility Summit” following a wave of complaints from Canadians with disabilities over how they were treated during flights.

Lesosky argued that proper compensation for boarding and training will help ease those issues.

“Currently, our pay structure is half-pay or minimum wage for payment for that kind of [training],” he said.