Air Canada flight attendants hold silent protest outside Montreal-Trudeau airport

Hundreds of Air Canada flight attendants stood outside Montreal-Trudeau airport Monday afternoon to protest what they call “poverty wages” and unpaid labour.

With a strike looming, the silent protest saw the uniformed flight attendants line the sidewalk outside the terminal for 30 minutes.

They held signs like “Unpaid work won’t fly” and “UnfAir Canada.”

“We are here today to support our bargaining team that is at the table,” Julie Potvin, the vice-president of CUPE Local 4091, told CityNews. “We’ve mobilized, we’ve given a strong voice to our team that is there. We want them to know that we’re behind them and we’re confident that they can come to constructive negotiations and come to us with a tentative agreement that we will all be happy with.

“This is really just a silent protest to be heard, to be seen, to show our unity, to give us some leverage with the employer to let them know that we are here, we are loud, we are mobilized, we’re united, and we are all here with a strong voice that we want to be recognized for the work that we do and paid equitably and fairly.”

The protest was part of a larger effort across Canada in airports in three other major cities, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, that is being referred to by the union as a national day of action.

Wages, unpaid work

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says the Air Canada component of the union was set to return to bargaining talks with the airline on Friday after its members voted 99.7 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.

The vote, which wrapped last Tuesday, means flight attendants could possibly walk off the job as soon as Saturday at 12:01 a.m. with at least 72 hours’ notice provided.

“I don’t think that’s anybody’s goal, a work interruption would be an interruption for us flight attendants. What we want is to be on board with our passengers to continue to give them service,” Potvin said.

The two sides have been in contract talks since the beginning of the year and the strike mandate comes after the airline and union concluded a conciliation process without reaching a deal.

One of the major issues is unpaid work — a flight attendant’s non-remunerated time before a flight pulls away from the gate.

“When we come to work in uniform, we will show up to a flight an hour to an hour and 20 (before), and then we will do the boarding, our safety checks, our safety briefing,” Potvin explained. “If there are any issues with passengers, management of suitcases, any first aid that is given on the ground, this is all done during unpaid time.”

Wages are also at issue. “If we look at minimum wage in the last 25 years, that has gone up for 125 per cent,” she said. “However, Air Canada flight attendants today are paid only 10 per cent more than we were back 25 years ago.”

In a statement to CityNews, Air Canada says it is focused on reaching a negotiated settlement that would make the flight attendants the best paid in the country, but that would also support the long-term growth of the company. The company says its goal is to achieve this without any disruptions to travel.

Travellers support flight attendants

Travellers at the Montreal airport on Monday were generally supportive of the Air Canada flight attendants going on strike.

“You know, it’s difficult to make a living these days,” said Vancouver’s Anna Scheffer. “And if they feel that they need a raise, I think you should get it. As far as affecting travel, we’ve had other strikes before. … If they want to get a raise, they need to do something, they need to be able to do that.”

“I would like to see the flight attendants get the wages that are fair to them but without the disruption to travellers, since it’s of no fault to theirs,” added New York resident Laura Schultz. “Their wages aren’t meeting their needs, so good luck to them and I hope it goes well.”

“It could be disruptive for travellers, but I also hope they will succeed in their strike and get what they want,” said Quebec’s Koraly Tremblay.

“I’m pretty sure Air Canada has enough money and only the CEO and the directors should earn less,” added Yi Fei of Calgary. “They should pay more to the flight attendants and the first-line people.”

–With files from The Canadian Press