Flight Attendants Back at Work — Here’s One Way We Could Fix the System

✈️ Flight Attendants Back at Work — Here’s One Way We Could Fix the System

This week, thousands of Air Canada flight attendants were ordered back to work by the federal government. Minister Patty Hajdu invoked the Canada Labour Code, halting the strike and sending the dispute into binding arbitration.

While this avoided travel chaos, it left the attendants frustrated. Why? Because their fight isn’t just about wages — it’s about unpaid work. Boarding, safety prep, ground delays — all of it counts as real work, yet much of it isn’t paid. CUPE estimates 10,000 attendants contribute over 4 million unpaid hours a year.

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💸 The Money Is There

Air Canada’s CEO makes around $12 million a year. Canada’s top 100 CEOs take home an average of $13.2 million each, for a total of $1.32 billion annually.

Just to pay attendants for all that unpaid work at $60–$95/hr would cost roughly $210–$395 million/year. That’s covered several times over by the top 100 CEO salaries. The money exists; it’s a question of allocation.

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💡 One Idea to Fix It

Here’s a government-friendly idea that could make this right without crashing the economy:

1. Luxury Pay Tax or Surcharge: CEOs earning above a certain threshold (say $5–10M) pay an extra tax. Funds go directly to cover unpaid frontline work.
2. Mandatory Fair Work Contributions: Companies contribute a portion of executive bonuses or stock options to a fund for employees if unpaid work disputes arise.
3. Legislative Protections: Make it illegal to not pay attendants for hours they work. This could be enforced through audits and fines.
4. Public Pressure & ESG Incentives: Highlight companies that do the right thing and shame those that don’t. Investors increasingly care about fair labour practices.

In other words, you don’t have to take CEO salaries outright — you can create rules and incentives that ensure frontline workers are finally paid what they’re owed.

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✊ Why It Matters

Flight attendants keep Canadians safe and our skies running smoothly. Paying them fairly isn’t just a labour issue — it’s about fairness, public safety, and economic sense. And the resources are there; it just takes the political will and smart policy to allocate them properly.