The union representing Air Canada flight attendants says it has filed for conciliation with the federal labour minister after reaching an deadlock in contract negotiations with the airline.
The Air Canada element of CUPE, which represents 10,000 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants, mentioned its high precedence is boosting compensation, noting an entry-level full-time wage is roughly $1,951 per 30 days.
Its earlier contract with the airline, which had been in impact since 2015, expired in March.
“Every thing has modified since 2015, however the firm refuses to acknowledge actuality,” mentioned union president Wesley Lesosky in a press launch.
“Our workloads have soared, the price of residing has skyrocketed past perception, and our working situations are getting
worse by the day. The established order will not reduce it.”
The union additionally desires to shut what it calls loopholes within the Canada Labour Code that it says permit airways to pressure flight attendants to work a mean of 35 hours per 30 days with out pay.
It mentioned its members full sure duties with out compensation, similar to boarding and deplaning, aiding passengers with mobility points, and performing pre-flight security checks.
WATCH | Air Canada flight attendants ponder strike:
Air Canada flight attendants ponder strike
CUPE represents 10,000 Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants who’re pushing to finish unpaid work as a part of ongoing labour negotiations with the airline, as their contract expires right this moment. At the moment, attendants are solely paid for the time the aircraft is within the air.
In a press release, Air Canada spokeperson Peter Fitzpatrick mentioned the airline plans to work with the federal mediation and conciliation service to succeed in a deal that “acknowledges our flight attendants’ valued contributions to Air Canada.”
“Air Canada has a protracted historical past of profitable labour relations and fruitful negotiations with its workers, as has once more
been demonstrated within the latest previous,” he mentioned.
“The federally mandated conciliation course of will happen over the approaching months, so clients can proceed to ebook and journey on Air Canada with full confidence.”
Fitzpatrick declined to touch upon specifics associated to ongoing negotiations relating to compensation, however mentioned the mannequin at present in place is in line with that at most world carriers.
“That mentioned, we’re definitely open to debate this merchandise with the union as a part of a extra basic dialog about general
compensation in our contract talks,” he mentioned.
As soon as a federal conciliation officer is appointed, there might be a 60-day interval for them to work with the airline and union adopted by a three-week cooling-off interval.
The union mentioned if there is no such thing as a settlement reached by then, it could give 72-hours’ discover of job motion after a strike vote has been taken.
