Your Air Canada Component of CUPE Wage Indemnity Board of Trustees would like to advise you of the following:
1. There will be a Contribution Holiday for the July earnings/hours worked by Mainline members. This will be reflected on the August 17th pay summary.
A Contribution Holiday is a period during which the members’ contributions to a plan cease temporarily. The coverage of the members for the Wage Indemnity Plan is paid to the insurance company via the Trust Fund.
2. Effective for the August block earnings, members will see a reduction to their WIP contribution from 2.8% to 2.5%. This will be apparent on the September 2026 pay summary.
If you are on an LOA, RBP or DSP, please see the information below on prepayment for continuation of coverage and TOP-UPS.
3. LOA (Leave of Absence)
Prepayment of an LOA what does this mean?
It means that should you become injured or ill during your absence you will be eligible to apply for WIP at the termination of the LOA and will have created earnings for the absence that would be used in the calculation of benefits.
Example, LOA for July:
Scenario A – prepay for continuation of coverage
Member cannot return to work for August due to medical reasons, books-off in August without a return to work.
Manion uses the three months prior to your disability as reported by Air Canada for the WIP calculation. May – 75 hours, June – 85 hours and July LOA month = 0 hours. In this member’s case prepaid has been made and there is an average of earnings that has been calculated by Manion for the JULY LOA and it will be used in place of the 0 hours for the weekly indemnity calculation.
Scenario B – NO prepayment of benefits, no return to work
Member cannot return to work for August due to medical reasons, book-offs in August without a return to work. This Member is contractually ineligible for WIP, because their premiums have not been paid for, therefore you have no coverage.
Scenario C – No prepayment of benefits and returned to work after LOA
Member returns to work/operation and becomes ill later in August and needs to apply for WIP. Earnings reported by Air Canada for the previous three months prior to the book-off are used May – 75 hrs/June – 85 hrs and July – 0 hours/dollars which will be used for the weekly calculation.
You will not be eligible for benefit consideration from a total disability commencing during a leave of absence, layoff, or suspension unless you have elected to keep your coverage in force during the leave of absence, layoff or suspension. To be eligible you must then return to active duty.
Prepayment of premiums is not required for an absence from the payroll of 15 calendar days or less.
Prepayment of premiums is required for an absence from the payroll of 16 or more calendar days for one of the following reasons.
You must prepay the required premium in full within 30 days of the commencement of the LOA to be eligible for benefit consideration immediately following the end of any of these periods:
If your leave of absence of 16 or more calendar days precedes your vacation and you have not prepaid the premium for that leave of absence in accordance with the Continuation of Coverage During Absence From Work section, coverage will not be reinstated until you return to active work. No prepayment of premiums is required when you are absent from work due to vacation.
Please contact Manion Contact Center at 1-866-532-8999 for applicable rates. State you are an AC flight attendant and you wish to prepay for an LOA . A member has 30 days from the start of the LOA to prepay for continuation of coverage.
4. RBP Effective June 1, 2026, anyone who books off June 1, 2026 or later and has pre-paid their RBP top-up will have their top-up begin from book-off rather than at the end of the schedules RBP. For example, if the member has pre-paid since April and books off July 1, 2026, Manion will use April, and June 2026 Block months + the top-up.
A member has 30 days from the start of the RBP to prepay for this top up. Manion contact centre is 1-866-532 8999. Members are to indicate they are an Air Canada flight attendant and that they wish to prepay for a REDUCED BLOCK and the months they are on RBP. Please leave your name, employee number and the date you called.
5. DSP DEFERRED SALARY PROGRAM
For members who are participating in the Deferred Salary Program (DSP) effective JULY and wish to pay extra contributions to increase their WIP benefit rate if they are unable to return to full duties at the end of the DSP due to an unforeseen disability:
- Please contact Manion Contact Center at 1-866-532-8999 for applicable rates.
- This must be done within 30 days of the commencement of the DSP leave.
- Please carefully read the DSP Package available from HR for complete details of how DSP works and under what circumstances DSP may be interrupted and contributions refunded.
Members participating in the DSP have the option to top-up their Wage Indemnity Plan (WIP) insurable earnings during the DSP leave based on the average of the CUPE DSP Contribution Earnings deduction during the 3 months immediately preceding their DSP leave.
Your DSP pre-pay will be calculated based on the average CUPE DSP Contribution Earnings deduction during the 3 months immediately preceding your DSP leave. For example:
April CUPE DSP Contribution Earnings deduction – $1,500
May CUPE DSP Contribution Earnings deduction – $1,450
June CUPE DSP Contribution Earnings deduction – $1,550
For the 3 months, April, May and June, your 3-month average CUPE DSP Contribution Earnings deduction would be equal to $1,500. Your contribution calculation would therefore be $1,500 multiplied by the Member contribution rate at the time of your DSP calculation, plus the employer’s cost, as well as applicable taxes.
Once you begin your scheduled DSP leave and payout period, in the event you become disabled, your WIP benefit will only take effect following the end of your scheduled DSP. Your WIP benefit will be calculated based on your earnings during the last 3 months of your scheduled DSP leave as reported by Air Canada. If you elected to pre-pay for a DSP top-up through to the end of your scheduled DSP, Manion will calculate your WIP benefit to include the top-up as per the example above.
On Behalf of The Board of Trust,
Patricia Eberley
Administrative Consultant
NOTE: All Policy Booklet information can be accessed on the Air Canada Component of CUPE web site www.accomponent.ca.
Manion, Wilkins & Associates
Plan Administration
626-21 Four Seasons Place
Etobicoke, Ontario
M9B 0A6
Switchboard: 416-234-5044
Toll Free Line: 1-800-663-7849
Fax: 416-234-0127
Contact Centre: 1-866-532-8999