Canada’s flight attendant union applauds NDP bill to end unpaid work in the airline sector

CUPE, the union representing 18,500 flight attendants nationwide, is applauding an NDP bill that would end the abuse of unpaid work in the airline sector. As it currently stands, most airlines in Canada only pay flight attendants when aircraft are in motion, leaving flight attendants performing an average of 35 hours of unpaid work every month, much of it safety-related.

Bill C-415, tabled this morning by NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo, would require airlines to pay flight attendants their full rate of pay for all hours worked. Several CUPE members from the airline sector were on hand to support the tabling of the legislation in the House of Commons.

“Canada’s flight attendants have been sounding the alarm about the abuse of unpaid work in our industry, and we applaud the NDP for answering the call with this legislation,” said Wesley Lesosky, an Air Canada flight attendant and President of CUPE’s Airline Division. “We’re calling on the government and other opposition parties to back this NDP bill that sets the standard for what flight attendants need going forward, and get it passed before the next election.”

In 2023, CUPE’s Airline Division launched the Unpaid Work Won’t Fly campaign, which has been raising awareness about unfair working conditions in the industry.

“For decades, our employers have tried to convince us that the practice of forcing employees to perform hours and hours of free work is normal – because that’s just the way it’s always been,” said Rena Kisfalvi, a Sunwing flight attendant and Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE’s Airline Division. ” Well, those days are over. We simply won’t accept it any longer.”