CUPE disappointed with arbitration outcome for Air Canada flight attendants

The union representing Air Canada’s cabin crew is unhappy with the results of an arbitration process that set out to decide the wage rates for some 15,000 employees as part of a four-year collective agreement.

Arbitrator Paula Knopf released her decision in the wage dispute on Tuesday (Feb. 17).

As travellers and travel advisors will recall, the arbitration was required under a settlement agreement between CUPE, which represents Air Canada’s flight attendants, and Air Canada, forming part of a broader resolution to end a strike last August that had led to thousands of flight cancellations, impacting some 500,000 passengers worldwide.

The matter was referred to arbitration after federal Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu invoked section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to end the cabin crew strike and refer all outstanding issues to binding interest arbitration.

As shared in a summary of Knopf’s decision, the settlement secured several gains for Air Canada’s flights attendants.  

These included the introduction of a “Ground and Cabin Security Premium,” providing additional compensation for duties CUPE had identified as previously unpaid work; increased meal allowances for Canada and U.S. layovers; and enhanced mobility for Rouge Cabin Personnel transferring, or “flow through" to Mainline, including the removal of language requirements and faster progression to the Mainline wage grid.

The agreement also provided expanded vacation entitlements, improved benefits for Mainline Cabin Personnel, and a new minimum rest entitlement during layovers, calculated from the time cabin personnel receive their hotel room key rather than flight check-out or other variables.

The settlement also included pension enhancements.

The issue of wages

But the strike settlement did not resolve the issue of wages.

As reported, Air Canada’s final wage offer was overwhelmingly rejected by 99.1 per cent of cabin crew, who instead chose to refer the matter to arbitration for resolution.

During a hearing that followed, CUPE, according to the summary of Knopf’s decision, advanced numerous arguments in support of wage increases beyond those contemplated in the Minutes of Settlement (MOS).

Air Canada did not assert that it lacked the financial capacity to meet CUPE’s demands. Instead, it maintained that its final wage offer formed part of a “tentative agreement” that should be upheld and implemented, the summary reads.

In the end, the arbitrator found that Air Canada and CUPE never reached a tentative agreement on the issue of wage rates for its crew.

Knopf further found that the MOS served as evidence that Air Canada was willing to implement all the priorities CUPE had left on the bargaining table, while knowing that if the wage rates were not ratified, they might be increased in the arbitration process.

She also found that Air Canada’s proposed wage rates generally fell within the normative range for the sector and had to be considered alongside the other significant improvements secured, which were characterized as breakthroughs.

She concluded that the MOS provided a strong basis for determining the appropriate wage rates, with one exception.

The wage rates proposed for Rouge were inconsistent with the parties’ established bargaining pattern and were therefore increased to ensure they did not fall below those of comparable Canadian airlines.

As a result, it was determined that crew’s wage rates should be increased by the following percentages:

• April 1, 2025 – For Mainline 12.0%, steps 1 to 9; 8.0% for all other steps; for Rouge, 13.0%, all steps
• April 1, 2026 – For Rouge and Mainline 3.0%, all steps
• April 1, 2027 – For Rouge and Mainline 2.5%, all steps
• April 1, 2028 – For Rouge and Mainline 2.75%, all steps

“This is not the outcome the Union fought to achieve,” the Air Canada component of CUPE wrote in a Facebook message to its members on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the federal government released the initial findings of its investigation into Air Canada flight attendants’ claims that they were not being paid for ground duties.

Under federal law, employers in industries like aviation must pay employees at least the federal minimum wage.

According to Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu’s office, the first phase of the probe found no evidence that airline compensation practices fall below this minimum. However, the report noted that pay for many part-time and entry-level flight attendants may require “closer examination.”

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