What happened
Canada's main flight attendants union is challenging the wage audits that airlines gave the federal government, as reported by Talent Canada. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 20,000 flight attendants, says the audits rely on a narrow definition of work. It has asked Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu to reject them.
The union argues that boarding, security screening, pre-flight checks, waiting through delays and travel between hotels and airports are all time at the employer's disposal. Counted that way, it says, many junior flight attendants earn less than minimum wage. Air Canada's submission says it found no cases below minimum wage, with effective hourly rates between $19.88 and $28.07 across its mainline and Rouge services. WestJet says its credit hour system folds ground duties and delays into a single higher rate.
Ottawa opened the probe in August 2025 after a strike at Air Canada. A first phase, published in February, found little evidence of widespread unpaid work but flagged part-time and entry-level flight attendants for a closer look. The union also says the government has not made public its definition of work. An industry council says current practices comply with the law and that pay models are best settled at the bargaining table.
Why it matters if you are hiring
This is an airline dispute, but the question underneath it applies to any employer that pays through a credit, piece or bundled-rate model. Where does paid work start and end? Waiting time, pre-shift tasks and travel between sites are the usual flashpoints.
If you hire shift workers, drivers, field crews, or anyone paid a blended rate, the effective hourly rate is the number that gets tested. A premium rate can still fall short if the hours behind it are counted more broadly than you assumed. Entry-level and part-time staff are the first place that gap shows, and the federal probe pointed there too.
It also affects how you pitch roles. Candidates are reading more closely about what is paid and what is not. Offers that explain how hours are counted will land better than ones that quote only a headline rate.
One thing to do this week
Pick your lowest-paid hourly role and work out the effective hourly rate with every on-duty activity included: set-up, waiting, required travel and wrap-up. Compare it to the applicable minimum wage. If the margin is thin, take it to your payroll lead or employment counsel before the next hiring round.
Traverse places operations, contract, finance and other professionals across Canada, and helps employers set roles and pay structures that candidates trust and that hold up to scrutiny.