Flight attendants union urges government to reject airlines' claims on unpaid work

Unionized employees and supporters take part in a rally for Air Canada flight attendants on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

MONTREAL — Canada’s main flight attendants union is crying foul on airline submissions to the federal government on its probe into unpaid work in the sector.

In a letter, the head of the union’s airline division says the self-audits on wages that carriers provided to authorities this month rely on a narrow and “misleading” definition of what constitutes as work in order to show that cabin crew are paid fairly.

Wesley Lesosky is calling on Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu to reject the submissions, claiming they fail to reveal that many junior flight attendants effectively work for less than minimum wage when activities such as boarding passengers, passing through security and conducting pre-flight checks are taken into account.

In Air Canada’s self-audit, obtained by The Canadian Press, the country’s largest carrier says it found no instances where flight attendants’ effective hourly rate fell below minimum wage.

National Airlines Council of Canada CEO Jeff Morrison has said current practices already comply with labour laws and compensate flight attendants fairly for their work.

Ottawa launched an investigation of the airline sector in August 2025, when negotiations between Air Canada and the union representing its cabin crew boiled over into a strike that saw planes grounded as workers took to the picket lines.

Findings from the first phase of the probe, published in February, found little evidence that unpaid work was widespread in the industry, although investigators flagged some issues with part-time and entry-level flight attendants for a closer look.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.