An ex-on-board agent lifted the veil on the working conditions of which he was “often outraged” when he worked at Air Canada Rouge. “What are on -board agents are fighting, it’s really legit.»
“I am an ex-Air Canada edge agent and let me tell you that … let’s go The strike, ”says Alexis Richard in a Tiktok video.
He deplores that on -board agents sometimes work long hours without being remunerated. The approximately 10,000 agents of the Air Canada section of the Canadian Public Service Syndicate (SCFP) claim in particular that all their hours worked are paid.
“You arrive at the Airport Super in advance because no one wants to put a plane late. All this time, you are not paid. All the time that you spend security, customs-and let me tell you that it can be super long sometimes, even if you have priority access, ”he explains.
“Afterwards, you wait for the plane to be ready and, sometimes, the plane is not there because there is a lot of delays. All this time, you’re not paid. We come home, we do the safety checkswe are not paid. We welcome you passengers, we are not paid. After that, all the time I help you place your suitcases, that I prepare the business back, I prepare the food, I make sure that nothing is missing, I am not paid. “
• Read also: Unpaid hours: here are the working conditions of Air Canada ons
It is only when the wheels of the plane roll to take off that on-board agents are starting to be remunerated, he adds.
“When you, the passengers, are angry because there is a snowstorm and there are deadlines for weather, well tell yourself that we too, we are not paid and that we spend all this time pear at the airport [gratuitement]Reveals Alexis Richard.
Disparity under working conditions
Another aspect of more unknown working conditions, but just as unpleasant in his opinion: the drafting. This is the term used by the employer to designate a quarter of work on call.
“When I ended up a day of work, if I did not have a day of protected leave, I could be drafted, that means being forced to work the next day,” he specifies.
He claims that he sometimes had only “10 or 12 hours” before having to return to work “for a day of 17 hours [si Air Canada] wanted it ”.
Photo AFP
He also regrets the disparity of the working conditions between employees who work for Air Canada Rouge, the subsidiary at low cost, compared to those of Air Canada.
“I loved traveled, I loved the passes stand-byexcept that it is really not a big salary. You do between 75 and 95 hours paid per month, so in reality it is really more hours that we spend at the airport, on the go, and everything, ”he says.
“What are on -board agents are fighting, it’s really [légitime]He believes.
The union filed a strike notice of 72 hours early on Wednesday on Wednesday.
The employer immediately retaliated with a lockout opinion, which will lead to the progressive cancellation of flights on Thursday.
