TikToker Janelle Dufault (@janelledufault) took to the app to share what it was like working for Air Canada as a flight attendant, and revealed that much of what flight attendants do in their day-to-day is actually unpaid work.
In a video posted on May 5, Dufault roleplays being a new hire at Air Canada.
"Welcome to Air Canada as a new flight attendant," she says in the clip.
"I'm so excited," she responds as the new hire. "So, how does the pay work?"
"You get $21 an hour," she says. However, she later clarified in the comments of her video that starting wage was actually $22.99.
"Does that start when I get to the airport?" the new hire asks.
"No," Dufault responds.
She goes on to explain that flight attendants on the job don't get paid when they get to customs, nor does payment begin when they get to the gate.
Instead, at the gate, she explains that flight attendants "sign in one hour before departure."
"So I sign in, but I don't get paid?" she asks as the new hire.
"Correct," she replies.
As for when flight attendants do get paid, this begins only "when everyone's on board [the flight] and the doors are closed."
She then goes through the different responsibilities flight attendants have that they aren't actually paid for.
@janelledufaultWhat it was like to work for an airline part 1: Pay ✈️ Did you know most flight attendants dont get paid for boarding, in between flights or deplaning? We only get paid for fight time. We dont get paid when there are delays even passengers are on the plane. Some days i was only paid for HALF of the actual hours on the clock. Needless to say, this was one of the many reasons why i couldnt stand it anymore. #whyiquit #flightattendantstory
This includes boarding, safety checks, any work done during delays, and deplaning after the flight.
"What if there's an emergency during deplaning and I have to tend to some passengers?" the new hire asks.
"Still unpaid," Dufault says.
She then went on to say that while Air Canada flight attendants don't get statutory holiday pay, they do get "free socks" for having worked Christmas day.
"And by the way, you'll probably have to work for the next five Christmases," she adds.
The video, which had amassed over 526,000 views as of Monday, also received tons of comments from people expressing their shock at the airline's pay structure.
"So the flight attendants responsible for all the safety checks of me and my family are doing it unpaid? Seems safe," wrote one person.
"I don't understand how this is legal," wrote another commenter.
"How can this be legal in Canada to require work from hourly employees and not pay them for hours worked??" asked another person.
"I had NO idea," said another. "This is insanity and abuse of power... Shame on the airlines!"
"They should strike, that is unbelievable," another commenter wrote.
Others acknowledged that the system of payment was common in the airline industry and not limited to Air Canada.
"As a former flight attendant... this is standard in the airline industry and 100% unacceptable. It needs to change!" one person replied.
"Thank you for posting. We are sick and tired," wrote another.
Some questioned why Dufault was not being paid the $28.15 indicated by Air Canada as the salary for "qualified" flight attendants.
"The point of this video was to highlight the unpaid hours," Dufault wrote in the comments of the clip. "The wage differs for all branches under the [Air Canada] name and I was a little off. Mine was $22.99."
"We work 80 hours/month, so it's like we get paid half the hourly wage," she wrote.
She's not the first to speak out about the matter. It was also the issue behind recent action from hundreds of flight attendants and supporters across Canada who staged rallies at major airports in April in protest of unpaid work.
According to CUPE, which represents about 18,500 flight attendants across the country, flight attendants in Canada perform, on average, 35 hours of unpaid work every month.
Depending on the airline they work for, these unpaid duties can include pre-flight safety checks, the boarding process, deplaning, and ground delays at the gate.
This adds up to nearly a full workweek without pay every month, the union says.
Narcity reached out to Air Canada for comment on its payment system for flight attendants. In an emailed statement, the airline said it "has a negotiated collective agreement with CUPE, which the airline abides by."
Some in the comments of the video suggested that Air Canada flight attendants should unionize.
"We have a union," Dufault said in response. "The problem is the contract that was previously agreed upon that enables the airline to do this to us."
Speaking to Narcity, Dufault said she received comments in response to her video saying that how "easy" the job is, as well as the travel perks, should make up for the payment structure.
"The job is not easy," she said. "The passengers only see us serving orange juice and coffee but there is so much more we do. We are responsible for the safety of everyone on board, so we are safety-focused at all times.
"We handle difficult passengers, medical emergencies, we look out for human traffickers, and are always on standby for other flight emergencies," she said.
"Benefits do not make up for unpaid work," she continued. "No matter what the perks are, people should be paid from the time they are required to show up to work."
