OTTAWA — Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says the federal government is launching a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector as a work stoppage at Air Canada stretches on.

One of the key complaints from the union representing Air Canada flight attendants is that workers are not paid for duties performed when planes are not in the air.

Hajdu said in an interview with The Canadian Press that she finds those claims “deeply disturbing.” She said she has asked the federal labour department if there have been any complaints from the sector about unpaid work, but to her knowledge, there have been none.

It will take “a number of weeks” for Hajdu’s department to interview employers and unions to get the full scope of collective agreements in the Canadian airline sector, she said.

If the probe determines those allegations are well-founded, Hajdu said she is prepared to introduce legislation that would close any such loopholes.

“I hope that it’s going to give Canadians confidence that if we find instances where work is unpaid, that there will be a remedy, legally or otherwise,” she said.

“I hope that it’s going to give Canadians confidence that if we find instances where work is unpaid, that there will be a remedy, legally or otherwise,” she said.

The minister’s announcement comes two days after she asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration on Air Canada and the flight attendants’ union.

The flight attendants’ union defied that order and remained on the picket line on Aug. 18, leaving Air Canada flights grounded for a third day even after the industrial relations board ruled Monday that the strike is unlawful.

Negotiations resumed Monday evening with a mediator and a tentative agreement was reached shortly after 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning, bringing the strike to an immediate end.