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WestJet flight attendants held a ‘Day of Action’ in Calgary on July 14, when union members voted almost unanimously in favour of a strike.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The union representing more than 4,000 WestJet flight attendants has declared that its members will go on strike if a deal is not reached with the airline by Sunday.
In a statement issued early Thursday morning, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said that WestJet Airlines Ltd. and the union are “still too far apart” on some key issues, and that the strike notice does not necessarily mean that flight attendants want to go on strike.
“There’s still time to avoid a strike,” said Alia Hussain, president of CUPE Local 8125, the union chapter representing 4,400 flight attendants. “We will continue to bargain around the clock until this is resolved. We want a fair contract for our members that recognizes the value of flight attendants’ work and recognizes our position as employees of the second-largest carrier in Canada.”
Explainer: Why and when WestJet flight attendants could strike, and how it may affect you
WestJet responded to the union’s strike notice by issuing a 72-hour lockout notice. “We sincerely regret the inconvenience and uncertainty this continues to cause for our guests,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, chief executive officer of WestJet. “Our commitment remains at the bargaining table, where we will continue to work around the clock to come to an agreement that provides value and meaningful improvements for our Cabin Crew and is sustainable for our company.”
The airline has informed passengers travelling between July 30 and Aug. 4 that they can make a one-time change or cancellation at no additional cost. WestJet is also making preparations to operate on a reduced schedule, although the airline did not specify if flights will start being cancelled from today.
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CUPE and WestJet are at odds primarily over ground pay. As it stands, flight attendants get paid using a credit hour system, meaning they are paid a minimum amount based on credited flight time, rather than every hour they spend on duty. CUPE argues that flight attendants are fundamentally underpaid because they do not get paid an hourly wage for the work they do before a plane takes off, and after it lands. The union is fighting to amend the credit hour system in favour of an hourly wage system for work done by cabin crew before a flight departs.
The unpaid work that flight attendants perform caused a stalemate in last year’s negotiations between CUPE and Air Canada flight attendants. That labour dispute made headlines last August when striking Air Canada flight attendants defied a back-to-work order issued by the federal government and continued striking for three days. The disruption grounded domestic and international flights, and ultimately culminated in CUPE brokering a tentative deal with Air Canada which, for the first time, awarded flight attendants partial ground pay.
“CUPE wants to harmonize language between the Air Canada agreement and the WestJet agreement to set an industry standard, and so that Air Canada cannot come back to them in the next round of bargaining saying WestJet has a competitive advantage,” said Steven Tufts, a labour expert at York University. “WestJet, however, is trying to argue that it already is giving ground pay with the credit hour system.”
Last week, WestJet flight attendants voted almost unanimously in favour of a strike, strengthening the union’s position at the negotiating table ahead of issuing a strike notice.
