CUPE, which represents 4,400 flight attendants with WestJet, sought pay for its members from ⁠the time they check in until they clock out, instead of ‌mostly just for time when their aircraft is in motion.

CUPE 8125 says its members perform about 35 hours of unpaid work per month. Ground pay would compensate flight attendants for work done on the ground before boarding and after deplaning, including safety procedures and assisting passengers. 

The issue of ground pay is not unique to WestJet. Paying flight attendants only for their time in the air is common practice with North American airlines, CBC has previously reported. But it started getting more attention after the COVID-19 pandemic led to more delays on the ground — and in turn, more unpaid work.

Ground pay was a sticking point in last summer’s Air Canada flight attendants strike. They now receive half their hourly wage rate for 60 minutes of ground time on narrow-body aircraft and 70 minutes on wide-body planes. That will rise to 60 per cent of the hourly wage rate in April, 65 per cent in 2027 and 70 per cent in 2028. 

With files from The Canadian Press