Details of tentative Air Canada deal include some pay for ground work: source

Air Canada flight attendants will begin getting paid for the work they do on the ground before the plane takes off, though not at 100 per cent of their wage, CTV News has confirmed.

According to a union representative, the new tentative deal between the airline and the union ­— set to expire March 31, 2029 — lays out a plan to pay flight attendants 50 per cent of their salary as “ground pay” for an hour before the flight takes off for smaller planes, and 70 minutes for larger planes.

The rate is meant to increase annually to reach 70 per cent of their pay for ground work by the time the agreement expires in 2029.

Flight attendants are also set to receive a salary increase, the union representative said.

About 10,000 flight attendants went on strike Saturday morning. Less than a day later, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered them back to work using a contentious labour provision, which members defied to stay on the picket line.

On Monday, Air Canada estimated that about 500,000 customers’ flights had been cancelled since the strike began over the weekend. The airline, meanwhile, has warned it could take more than a week to gradually increase service levels to those of before the strike.

Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants have been in a labour dispute over the renegotiation of contracts for months, with the latter asking for a pay increase and “ground pay,” which is compensation for the work they do before takeoff.

Until the tentative deal is ratified, Air Canada flight attendants are not paid until the plane is in the air, a common practice among airlines.

“I am relieved that Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have reached a tentative agreement early this morning,” Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. “It is my hope that this will ensure flight attendants are compensated fairly at all times, while ending disruption for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families, workers, and visitors to Canada.”

With files from CTV News’ Scott Hurst