Talks continue as 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants want new deal to keep them in the air

Contract talks between Air Canada and its 10,000 or so flight attendants continued last week and more bargaining sessions are scheduled down the road as the two sides attempt to strike a deal before any work action is considered.

The flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, who are represented by the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, have been without a collective bargaining agreement since their pact with Canada’s largest airline expired on March 31.

In its most recent online update, the union’s bargaining committee said it was back at the table for talks with the employer the week of April 14 to 18 and that additional bargaining sessions are planned in the coming weeks and into June.

“We’re continuing our discussions at the table. Bargaining dates are confirmed through to early June and we’ll keep pushing forward with your priorities front and centre,” the committee told flight attendants.

In February, the union characterized ongoing discussions between the two sides, which began in December, as good.

Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, said earlier via the union’s podcast the two major issues — substantial wage increases and addressing unpaid work — are at the heart of ongoing negotiations with Air Canada.

Flight attendants employed by Canada’s largest airline worked under the same collective agreement for the past decade, with two per cent annual wage increases.

Lesosky said earlier in negotiations that “as workers, we’re at a breaking point” and during a February podcast noted members “are no longer interested in working for free.”

He added earlier in the bargaining process that everyone has frustrations with flying, “but for us as flight attendants, working hundreds of unpaid hours shoots to the top of the list. Flight attendants are largely only paid while the flight is in motion, working for free while boarding, deplaning and carrying out critical safety checks.”

The union says Air Canada has to give flight attendants “the respect and the proper pay they deserve.”

In addition to the long-standing issues of wages and unpaid work, working conditions and scheduling, according to CUPE, are also on the table for discussion.

Montreal-based Air Canada operates more flights out of Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga than at any other airport.

Travellers using Toronto Pearson as well as other major airports across the country would feel the impact should the flight attendants at some point hit the picket lines in a work stoppage.

However, no such job action is imminent and a spokesperson for CUPE’s Air Canada Component said in an earlier email to INsauga.com that any talk of job action is “premature.”