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The federal government has outlined the next steps it will take in its investigation into unpaid work in the airline industry, saying it will consult with both employees and employers and hold two roundtable discussions with stakeholders.
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu announced the probe in August, amid a strike at Air Canada by flight attendants, saying she found the union’s chief complaint that flight attendants are not paid for duties performed when planes are not in the air “deeply disturbing.”
On Monday, Employment and Social Development Canada announced that roundtables with industry stakeholders will be held on Sept. 23-24 and Oct. 2-3.
Ottawa also has set an Oct. 17 deadline for feedback. The department said it will publish the results as soon as possible.
“All this information will be collected and disseminated in a report that will be publicly available by early December, and then we’ll be able to take appropriate action,” Hajdu told The Canadian Press in an interview.
Hajdu said the key question she has is whether there’s a loophole that lets employers avoid their obligations to compensate flight attendants fairly for their work.
The minister has said this process could result in new legislation to close gaps in the labour code. She said Ottawa wants to be “very careful” about what it does next, making sure “we uphold the right for members and employers to bargain the terms of work and the conditions of work, as they see fit,” Hajdu said in her Gatineau office on Monday.
“We also know that Canadians, rightfully so, can’t stand for unpaid work, and so we need to get to the bottom of it.”
Hajdu invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code in August to end the Air Canada strike and lockout, and ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to intervene.
The labour dispute grounded hundreds of flights during the busy summer travel period.
The three-day strike ended Aug. 19 with the help of a federal mediator, and the two sides reached a tentative agreement, which included a 12 per cent salary increase this year for most junior flight attendants and an eight per cent bump for more senior members, followed by smaller raises in subsequent years.
The flight attendants overwhelmingly voted to reject that deal earlier this month, sending the wage issue back to mediation and eventually arbitration if the dispute remains unresolved, a move that is not affecting flight operations.
Flight attendants to rally Tuesday
The union has maintained the cabin crew members it represents are not being paid fairly and are not properly compensated for time they must spend on the job when planes are not in the air.
It says flight attendants work about 35 hours on average each month for free.
Air Canada has said it offered improvements to wages, pensions and benefits, and a new contract component that recognizes ground time.
Hajdu said claims about unpaid work can’t be left unanswered.
“It’s really important to understand what the root of this allegation is, how it came to be, what the remedies are, and what all parties think is a best remedy,” she said.
“This is obviously not unique to Canada. This is an industry-wide approach. But Canada can lead in terms of solving what I think sounds like a very deep irritant for workers in this industry.”
Other North American airlines don’t compensate flight attendants for time spent on the ground before and after flights under their collective agreements. Attendants with United Airlines and others have recently sought to renegotiate their contracts to include ground pay.
Flight attendants represented by CUPE are expected to rally on Parliament Hill Tuesday to call for an end to what they say is unpaid work in the domestic airline industry.
