The federal government’s probe into allegations about unpaid work in Canada’s airline sector should wrap up by early December, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said Monday.
Hajdu first announced the review in August, after a disruptive labour dispute grounded hundreds of Air Canada flights, and the issue of unpaid work for flight attendants was a key part of the impasse.
On Monday Employment and Social Development Canada announced that roundtables with industry stakeholders will be held on Sept. 23 and 24 and Oct. 2 and 3.
Ottawa also has set an October 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 is whether there is a loophole that lets airline employers avoid compensating 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 also said Ottawa will proceed cautiously and she doesn’t want to prejudge the outcome.
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“Because these are collective agreements and my understanding is that these are negotiated, the government wants to be very careful about what we do next to make sure that 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 Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents some 10,000 flight attendants, overwhelmingly rejected the company’s last wage offer in a vote on Sept. 6. Now the two sides are awaiting mediation, and eventually arbitration if the dispute remains unresolved.
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.
The union maintains that 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 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.
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