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WestJet strike to continue until agreement is reached, union says, as flight cancellations top 830

Posted on by angelo

As WestJet flight cancellations skyrocket over the Canada Day long weekend, the head of the union representing the airline’s striking mechanics is vowing to continue the work stoppage until a new contract agreement is reached.

Bret Oestreich, president of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), told Reuters the two sides would meet again with a mediator on Sunday, but as long as negotiations continue, the strike will also continue.

“We just want to get back to the negotiating table,” Oestreich said. “The strike will be in effect until we reach an agreement.”

In an emailed update to CBC News on Sunday afternoon, WestJet said 832 flights have been canceled so far, including 78 flights scheduled for Monday, July 1, and three flights scheduled for Tuesday, July 2.

AMFA represents about 680 WestJet workers, including aircraft maintenance engineers, who went on strike Friday after 97% of members rejected a wage deal reached in May.

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Oestreich said the two sides are separated by a first-year economic difference of about seven percent, or less than $8 million over a roughly four-year contract.

The workers, whose daily inspections and repairs are essential to flight operations, walked off the job despite a binding arbitration directive from the federal labor minister.

The airline and AMFA accused the other side of refusing to negotiate in good faith.

As of Sunday morning, tracking service FlightAware reported that 77% of the day’s trips had been canceled, with WestJet leading the global list of cancellations among major airlines on Saturday and Sunday.

WestJet Airlines president Diederik Pen has highlighted what he calls the “continued reckless actions” of a union that is making “blatant efforts” to disrupt Canadians’ travel plans, while the union says the Calgary-based airline has refused to respond to its latest counter-proposal.

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At a news conference at WestJet’s Calgary headquarters Saturday morning, Pen and the airline’s CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, repeatedly said they were outraged and devastated by the strike, von Hoensbroech calling it “totally absurd”.

“The reason why you are striking is that you may have to put pressure on the bargaining table. If there is no bargaining table, it makes no sense,” he said. declared.

He said that as a result of these actions, the situation “will only worsen in difficulty and magnitude.”

“So this is a very destructive measure, essentially carried out by a rogue American union that is trying to establish itself in Canada and is adopting very, very unusual practices here,” von Hoensbroech said.

In a message posted Sunday afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called on the federal government to “end the work stoppage today.”

“With hundreds of flights cancelled and tens of thousands of Canadians in limbo, the federal government must take steps to ensure work continues throughout the binding arbitration process,” Moe said.

Those sentiments were echoed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who urged Ottawa on Sunday to “make clear its expectation that work must continue throughout binding arbitration.”