Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau appeared before the House of Commons Committee on Human Resources on February 5, to answer questions about the airline’s policies regarding customers with disabilities.

But NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo, from Port Moody-Coquitlam (BC), also put Rousseau on the hot seat for another issue: unpaid work.
Watch the full exchange in the video.

“What do you think of the fact that flight attendants work 34.86 hours unpaid per month? That they’re not paid for boarding? That they’re not paid for their pre-flight safety checks?” asked Zarrillo. “For someone that makes $12.6 million per year, Mr. Rousseau, what do you think about that?”

Rousseau’s response to Zarrillo’s line of questioning shows not even the CEO of Air Canada can answer why flight attendants are paid so unfairly with a straight face.

What did Rousseau have to say to defend or explain this policy? “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment on that.”

Really? If not the CEO, who else from Air Canada will be accountable for the practice of requiring flight attendants to work, on average, 35 hours every month for free? As flight attendants, we deserve a lot better.

But this much is clear: our message is getting through. Our campaign is only continuing to pick up steam, as elected leaders in Ottawa are beginning to take note and apply pressure to industry leadership. And as we can see, people like Michael Rousseau are feeling the heat – and it’s only going to get worse for them as we get closer and closer to the bargaining table.

In solidarity,

We are following up on our recent bulletin in relation to the Special Dinner allowance, which can be viewed here: https://accomponent.ca/night-dinner-special-dinner/. We wanted to give an update on this and other payroll issues we have been discussing with the Company.

We spoke with Air Canada management on February 6, 2024.  At that time, the Union was advised there were 7,201 outstanding claims from cabin crew. Their goal is to have payroll reduce this amount to zero by the April 17, 2024 pay.

Additionally, they confirmed that they will be pausing any vacation claw backs until this process is completed. There were 840 members identified that either had funds deducted in error or were given too many vacation days while in initial training. The Company, on an exceptional basis, will not be recouping these funds and further these 840 members will be reimbursed the claw back taken on their February 14, 2024, pay.

The Company will be sending the affected members a message and will confirm that they no longer owe any future deductions for the 2022-2023 vacation period. In addition to all this there are roughly 700 members who were still identified as showing taken more vacation than applicable. We have advised them that there must be an improvement and transparency in this process going forward.

The company has committed that going forward they will reconcile members vacation allotments monthly. This means that if you owe vacation due to a leave or other reason, and have further assigned vacation, it will be adjusted proactively. There will still be members who fall into a position at the end of the year where they will owe vacation. It is the hope and the intention that this process will assist both sides in ensuring that our members are advised in a timely way and with a full explanation of what is owed and why.

We were also made aware of over deductions made to a member on the Deferred Salary Plan during the contribution period. If you are participating in the Deferred Salary Plan, we recommend that you check to ensure deductions stopped when they were supposed to. If you notice that they have not ceased when they were supposed to please send us an email at contact@accomponent.ca.

In addition to the other items named above, we had a follow up discussion on the Night Dinner/Special Dinner allowance. The Company was advised that we want to ensure that any missing expense payment will be reimbursed. There may be a process involved in which the member needs to claim this. We will update you when we have more information. We believe that it is your money and if it is owed to you, it must be paid.

We want to reiterate the importance of checking your pay statements for all hours worked, as well as your expenses. Check out our website for a document that you may find helpful HERE: Mystery-of-Meals.pdf (accomponent.ca).

We will continue to explore ways to help members to understand their pay statement and the process involved in pay claims. We will hold our first ACCEX meeting once the Local Elections are completed and this subject will be on the agenda.

In solidarity,

As many of you are aware, for the 2023 year, our Calgary base lost some of its overseas flying. This triggered LOU 60.03.05 of the Collective Agreement.

The letter of understanding states:

L60.03.05 In the event that the block hour guarantees in L60.03.02 are not met in any given year, other than by reason of Force Majeure Air Canada Mainline will be required to pay $750.00 to each Air Canada Cabin Crew Member at the affected base who was active for at least one (1) month during the year in which the target was not met. For Air Canada Mainline Cabin Personnel who were not active for the entire calendar year during which the target was not met, the $750.00 shall be pro-rated based on the length of their service as a portion of that year. The penalty will be paid by March 1.

We have been in discussions with Labour Relations on this front, and they have confirmed that as per the contractual requirement they will be paying this to our YYC based members.  For members that were based in YYC-Calgary who were not active for the entire calendar year shall have the $750.00 prorated.

We encourage you to verify the amount and watch for further communications from Air Canada on this. Following the payment, if you have any questions, please reach out to the Company for clarity.  If you need further assistance, please reach out to your local who can review and advise.

In solidarity,