WestJet and its flight attendants have settled on a preliminary labor agreement, ending a strike that had crippled air travel in the country through a hectic holiday weekend. The agreement, released Monday morning, will let cabin crew head back to work while the airline re Books. The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 8125, which represents approximately 4,400 WestJet flight attendants, reported that picketing has ended and members are returning to work. The deal must still be ratified by the membership through a vote, which they anticipate taking place within 30 days.
Union representatives indicated that they are hopeful that the package responds to the issues that caused the strike. The ‘core’ issue was pay. When flight credit was the norm, cabin crew were being paid for the time spent on board the plane.
Many of the jobs they did on the groundchecking safety measures, helping passengers aboard, tidying up after they’d departedwere paid at best ‘peanuts, ‘ or not at all. The union wanted the duty roster to be recognized in full. CUPE president Alia Hussain observed:..the tentative agreement changes the credit system so most of the work cabin crews do is now recognized and paid for, together with general pay increases.
WestJet chief Alexis von Hoensbroech said the strike was a “credit to the professionalism and dedication of [the company’s] cabin crew”. The airline apologized to customers and said that teams were working to restore normal services “as safely and quickly as possible. The full resumption of all services will take some time” as aircraft and crews need to be re-positioned and some “ultimately unavoidable cancellations” were expected.
The strike occurred on Sunday following the collapse of negotiations; it resulted in all of the carrier’s day’s flights being cancelled. Approximately 500 flights were cancelled the very first day of the strike, and thousands of enroute passengers were stranded over a holiday weekend with the strike causing widespread disruption for the rest of the week over 900 flights were affected. Many passengers were forced to find overnight accommodations, rebook flights and wait for new connections. Because WestJet carries a lot of leisure and intra-Canada traffic, the impact was felt nationally.
Both sides highlighted that negotiations culminated in an accord between employer and union without government interference. The result was praised by Canada’s labour minister. It’s a good step for the union and its membership after several months of negotiations.
For the airline, it means a break from the risk of time-consuming and damaging strikes and a chance to rebuild its damaged relationship with customers. This incident is part of larger trend facing the airline industry in North America. Cabin crews at a number of carrier have fought for a wage structure that recognize the extent of their responsibilities rather than just airborne time, a call to which WestJet’s prior proposal was inadequate.
The airline’s earlier offer included wage increases and a duty premium that was designed to compensate for some workdays not included in standard wage calculations. Those who are stranded are beginning the arduous process of rescheduling their flights. WestJet recommends checking the status of your departure frequently, and has promised to keep customers updated as operations are sorted out.