More than 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada are set to vote this week on a new contract negotiated by their union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The voting period begins on August 27 and will continue until September 6. The union plans to announce the results within a day after the voting concludes.

The contract comes after a strike that began on August 16, which resulted in the grounding of hundreds of flights and left thousands of travelers stranded. Air Canada resumed operations on August 19 after the union reached a tentative agreement with the airline. However, the union indicated that it would take a week to ten days for full service to return.

The proposed contract includes significant salary increases. Most junior flight attendants would receive a 12 percent raise this year, while more senior members would see an eight percent increase. Additionally, all flight attendants would receive a three percent raise starting April 1, 2026, followed by increases of 2.5 percent in 2027 and 2.75 percent in 2028.

A key issue addressed in the new agreement is the compensation for unpaid work. Previously, flight attendants were only paid for the time the aircraft was in the air, despite performing essential duties before takeoff and after landing. Under the new contract, flight attendants will receive 50 percent of their hourly wage for 60 minutes of ground time on narrow-body aircraft and 70 minutes on wide-body planes. This compensation will increase to 60 percent in April 2024, 65 percent in 2027, and 70 percent in 2028.

The issue of ground pay has been a topic of discussion across the airline industry. In 2022, Delta Air Lines began compensating its flight attendants for boarding time, a move that has influenced other airlines, including American Airlines. Meanwhile, flight attendants at WestJet are also preparing for contract negotiations as their current agreement expires at the end of this year.

While some flight attendants have expressed intentions to reject the new deal, stating it does not meet their needs, a strike is considered unlikely. The vote is focused solely on the pay aspect of the agreement. Other terms, including changes to health and pension benefits and vacation time, are already finalized. If the pay increases are rejected, the wage portion will go to third-party arbitration.

The Canadian government previously ruled the flight attendants' strike illegal after they defied a back-to-work order. Any future strike would also be deemed illegal, although the union did not comply with the last ruling. The tentative agreement is set to expire on March 31, 2029.