westjet, union reach tentative agreement, ending flight disruptions
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westjet flight attendants stand on the picket line outside halifax stanfield international airport on sunday.
ally bowes
/
the chronicle herald
westjet and the union representing flight attendants reached a tentative agreement on monday morning, 24 hours after would-be passengers at halifax stanfield international airport were left without a flight.
the canadian union of public employees (cupe) announced in a news release that its 4,400 cabin crew members will return to work, ending a disruption that had affected the plans of many travellers. the union’s strike notice and westjet’s lockout notices have been withdrawn.
the tentative agreement will be presented to the membership, who will have 30 days to review and take a ratification vote.
“we’re going to save the details so we can share with our membership first,” cupe 8125 president alia hussain said in a news briefing in calgary on monday afternoon. “that’s been the bargaining committee’s direction to me, so we’ll be sharing that shortly.”
hussain said the agreement expands on the flight credit system and captures it in a way that the flight credit system itself wasn’t capturing.
“this agreement represents meaningful progress on the issues that we brought to the table. it improves on the longstanding flight credit system by recognizing more of the work that cabin crew are required to perform and increasing the compensation for that work,” said hussain.
hussain noted the importance of the agreement being reached without government intervention.
“this agreement was reached through the collective bargaining process itself, meaning that the government didn’t use section 107 and any form of intervention of that form,” said the cupe 8125 president. “the parties remained at the table and worked through the outstanding issues, and eventually the puzzle pieces came together in a way that made sense for us to take to our membership.”
the next order of business is for the resumption of flights.
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“we signed a wrap-up agreement early this morning with the company to ensure that operations can get back to normal as quickly as possible, but i think that question would be better for the organization,” said hussain.
the company stated that it is working to restore service for its customers.
“we are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that reflects the hard work and professionalism of our cabin crew,” said alexis von hoensbroech, chief executive officer of westjet, in a news release. “we know this disruption has been frustrating for our guests and westjetters and we’re sorry for that. our teams are working hard to restore service and get our guests on their way to their destinations as quickly as possible and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we get back to normal.”
after nearly 11 months of bargaining, westjet flight cabin crew represented by the canadian union of public employees (cupe) went on strike early sunday morning. around 4,400 westjet flight attendants left their posts and moved to the picket line.
westjet said 309 flights scheduled through sunday night were cancelled. westjet encore flights remained in operation.
westjet flight attendants stand on the picket line outside halifax stanfield international airport on sunday. they are being represented by cupe local 8215.
ally bowes
/
the chronicle herald
the airline advised passengers to check flights prior to heading to the airport and that those impacted would be rebooked to the next available flight or could request a refund.
at the halifax stanfield international airport, 24 westjet departures scheduled to leave halifax are marked as cancelled as of sunday evening, including european, u.s. and domestic flights.
stranded passengers
a passenger from one of the cancelled flights, devyn de rosa had been trying to get home to edmonton with her husband and two young children following a wedding when the airline cancelled two flights in under 24 hours.
she said her original saturday night flight was replaced with a sunday departure, which later met the same fate and was also cancelled. currently, westjet has booked a flight to hamilton on wednesday with no flight to get her family back to edmonton.
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“so at the moment, i’m stranded,” de rosa said, standing in front of the westjet check-in counter on sunday.
de rosa, like many passengers, said she did try to get in touch with westjet but was met with a recording saying the airline was experiencing a high demand for calls prior to disconnecting. according to her, the airline’s online chat was also unresponsive.
with accommodations and other travel expenses, she estimates that the cancellation could end up costing her an additional $2,000 to $3,000.
“i’m laughing because it’s like, what else can you do really at this point?” she said. “i’ve got two small kids in the car, so i just need to get back to edmonton.”
another passenger, martin cabrera, was supposed to fly home to calgary on sunday along with two others. while rebooked on another flight for later in the week, he said the airline could not confirm it would go ahead.
martin cabrera was supposed to fly to calgary on sunday. his flight was cancelled following the work stoppage sunday morning.
ally bowes
/
the chronicle herald
“with the strike still going on, you’re not even sure if you’re able to get on those flights,” he said.
like de rosa, he tried to get in touch with the airline with no luck, leaving himself and the rest of the group looking for hotels while waiting in the airport for answers.
“we need to take a hotel or extra meals, and we don’t know even it’s going to be compensated for that because they said that labour disruptions are out of the airline’s control, and they don’t compensate you for that,” he said.
“we need to take a hotel or extra meals, and we don’t know even it’s going to be compensated for that because they said that labour disruptions are out of the airline’s control, and they don’t compensate you for that,” he said.
“it’s very messy, very frustrating, really, and very upsetting that all this is happening … you’re just being abandoned to your own fate.”
the issue
the core issue in the dispute is how flight attendants are paid for work before takeoff and after landing.
according to cupe, flight attendants have been working as much as 35 additional hours a month unpaid, doing things including boarding passengers, preparing the cabin, and safety checks.
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it is because of this that, along with improvements to wages, working and scheduling conditions, the union called for pay for all the work cabin crew does on the ground.
“we tried until the very last minute to get a fair deal that recognizes the value of the work cabin crews do,” said alia hussain, cupe local 8125 president.
according to westjet, the most recent offer came with a new duty pay premium for all working hours, equivalent to a 12 per cent salary increase, in addition to a 13 per cent wage increase as of oct. 1, followed by 2.5 per cent increases at the start of the year through 2029.
the proposed deal also included retroactive payments dating to jan. 1, 2026.
“westjet’s offer did not go far enough,” hussain said in an earlier cupe’s statement.
stuck but supportive
despite the delay in returning home for her family, de rosa said she supported the crew members on strike getting what they are asking for.
“no one should have to work for wages that are unfair,” she said.
westjet stated that it is working to restore service for its customers, but no timeline was available.
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