‘An archaic practice’: Flight attendants protest unpaid work – Calgary | 24CA News
Flight attendants are calling to receives a commission for time that they’re on a aircraft however not within the air.
Currently, it’s starting when a aircraft’s doorways are closed and the plane pushed again from the gate that flight attendants start to receives a commission, till the flight touches down. Attendants determine they work 35 unpaid hours monthly.
“It is an archaic practice,” Alia Hussain, president of CUPE Local 4070, mentioned at an informational picket on the Calgary International Airport on Tuesday. Similar protests had been happening at airports throughout the nation
“Anytime that a flight attendant is at work in uniform on duty, should he or she, they should be paid,” she mentioned.
“This isn’t just a one airline problem, this is an industry problem. And we want it addressed.”
Brandy Whitby, the Calgary vice-president for Westjet flight attendants, is now within the business part-time after 17 years full-time.
She mentioned among the unpaid work consists of checking manuals, bulletins and emails, and checking private flight paperwork properly earlier than they set foot in a terminal, a course of that may take hours.
Delays on the tarmac or folks requiring further help deplaning all go unpaid. Winter storms additionally go away flight attendants with out pay.
“I’ve been flying for 20 years and it’s not good. When I think about how many hours I’ve actually volunteered on the aircraft as opposed to what I’ve been paid, it’s a lot,” Whitby mentioned.
She mentioned the union wish to see extra of these hours paid for.
“What we see is more often than not that when there are demographics that are primarily staffed by women or individuals who identify as women, that pay is often devalued and lower. And it’s the same in the care industry as well.”
The flight attendants mentioned there are additionally security issues round being awake for prolonged intervals of time.
“Air crew have a specific level of able bodied-ness that they have to pull to be able to operate an aircraft safely and under Transport Canada regulations,” Whitby mentioned. “So you can’t just go to work tired.”
Flight attendants working for Delta Airlines are the lone group who has been in a position to negotiate for extra of these hours outdoors of flight to be paid for.
In separate statements, Air Canada and WestJet acknowledged they’ve negotiated collective agreements with the flight attendants’ union, which they observe.
“Regarding rates of pay, these rates were bargained to take into account a credit hour system that provides wages on a basis other than duty time worked, including pre and post flight duties,” a WestJet spokesperson mentioned.
“The WestJet Group remains committed to listening to and addressing concerns raised by our valued cabin crew members through the bargaining process.”
–with recordsdata from Michael King, Global News
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
