Wage offer heads to mediation as union explains why work is still compensated around $15/hour
Air Canada flight attendants rejected a wage offer and sent the matter to mediation and will likely result in binding arbitration. Although the vote focused on wages alone, union leadership and members continue to raise concerns about how compensation applies to pre- and post-flight safety duties, which they say remain significantly underpaid.
The wage portion of the tentative agreement goes down by 99.1 per cent of the roughly 10,000 members of CUPE’s Air Canada Component on September 6. The vote does not affect other portions of the tentative agreement, which still proceed.
“The compensation that the members would get with the 12% increase would still fall below… a full-time entry-level minimum wage job federally,” says Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE’s Air Canada Component, in an interview with Canadian Occupational Safety.
Pre-flight safety work remains a point of contention
Flight attendants at Air Canada mainline receive pay for approximately 65 flight hours per month, while Rouge employees receive pay for 75 hours. These hours only include time when the aircraft door remains closed.
Lesosky says this means many employees receive compensation for only a fraction of their total duty time, which includes time spent on pre- and post-flight safety responsibilities.
“You're only paid the 65 to 75 hours a month. So… when you're being paid, say, $30 an hour, that works out to $15 an hour,” says Lesosky, comparing the profession to a standard 40-hour work week, which adds up to 160 working hours a month.
Under the tentative agreement, employees receive 60 to 70 minutes per flight leg at 50 per cent of their hourly wage to account for ground duties. These include safety checks, emergency procedure reviews, and boarding responsibilities. Lesosky says the compensation for these newly paid minutes still falls short of reflecting the actual value of the work performed.
“Some of those times that you're going to be compensated would be under minimum wage,” he says.
Wage comparisons and industry benchmarks
Air Canada positions the tentative agreement as “industry leading.” However, CUPE presents several wage comparisons that suggest otherwise. According to Lesosky, the starting wage at Air Canada Mainline is $30.02/hour, while Rouge employees start at $26.42/hour.
In contrast, Air Transat flight attendants currently start at $39.21/hour, with that figure rising to $40.38/hour by November 2025. Even at Flair Airlines, considered a lower-cost carrier, the starting wage is $27.50/hour.
“They’re so close to main line and they’re over Rouge,” Lesosky says, referring to Flair’s base rate.
Lesosky adds that the union focuses not only on long-term benefits, but also on ensuring that members can meet present-day financial needs.
“It’s nice to have good benefits and good pension. But how do you pay for the necessities you require now?” he says.
Mediation and arbitration process underway
Following the vote, the dispute moves to mediation, as agreed to by both CUPE and Air Canada. If mediation proves unsuccessful, which Lesosky anticipates, the matter proceeds to binding arbitration.
As the arbitration process unfolds over the coming weeks, flight attendants remain on the job and performing safety-oriented work for around minimum wage.
