CUPE: Federal unpaid work probe proposes more delays, self-policing for airlines

Ottawa, ON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The federal government's probe into unpaid work has delivered underwhelming results, and CUPE's Airline Division, the union representing 20,000 flight attendants at 11 different airlines, is concerned by the government's proposal to continue letting the industry police itself.

"Flight attendants know unpaid work exists in the airline industry," said Wesley Lesosky, President of the Airline Division of CUPE. "Even airlines like Air Canada and Porter - who reluctantly offered ground duty premiums at 50 per cent hourly rate - acknowledge that unpaid work exists in the airline industry. How, then, is the government keeping a straight face as it tells Canadians and workers in this industry that unpaid work does not exist?"

CUPE’s Airline Division appreciates the federal government's efforts in convening a process to examine the abuse of unpaid work in the airline sector. However, the Division is disappointed that the probe appears to have concluded that the abuse of unpaid work by multibillion dollar airlines is not a problem worth fixing.

The government's only proposed solution - a request to airline companies to undertake wage compliance self-audits - is profoundly underwhelming and disappointing to the tens of thousands of Canadian workers who are forced to perform hours and hours of unpaid labour every time they report for work.

"If airlines could be trusted to do the right thing, we wouldn't be where we are today, but that's the only remedy the government has offered so far," said Lesosky. "We do not have faith in companies like Air Canada, and most Canadians certainly don't either. Why is the government putting their blind faith in companies like Air Canada to do the right thing?"

Unpaid work was the keystone issue in a strike by 10,500 Air Canada flight attendants in August 2025 that ground the national carrier to a halt for three days. CUPE has long maintained that flight attendants should be compensated for all hours worked at their full rate of pay.

Five more airlines, including WestJet and Porter, are bargaining new contracts with their flight attendants this year, and ending unpaid work will be a central issue in those negotiations as well.

"We called for action last summer, and instead we got a study that has resulted in a promise to perform an additional study," said Lesosky. "The government is acting like they have time to kill. They do not. They need to stop stalling and do their job."