WestJet Flight Attendants Strike Over Pay Dispute
Flight attendants at WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, began a strike on Sunday due to a pay dispute. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the airline’s 4,400 cabin crew members, announced the strike via their Facebook page. WestJet, a Delta Airlines partner, confirmed the action and canceled over 300 flights as of early Sunday. This disruption affected travel plans across Canada during a three-day weekend.
Dispute Details
The central issue in the dispute is the payment for duties flight attendants perform on the ground. The union claims that some of these tasks are unpaid. In contrast, WestJet asserts that staff receive compensation through a ‘credit hour’ system instead of a traditional hourly wage.
Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of the WestJet Group, stated, “We proposed a new standard for cabin crew in Canada. This included an hourly rate for all time before and after flights and a double-digit wage increase in the first year, among other priorities.” Despite this proposal, the union did not accept the terms.
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, president of the union chapter representing the cabin crew. “WestJet’s offer did not go far enough,”
Negotiations and Operations
Both parties expressed a willingness to resume negotiations to find an agreement. Due to the strike, WestJet stated it cannot operate any scheduled flights on Boeing 737s or 787s. Travelers affected by cancellations will either receive refunds or be re-accommodated. The airline plans to contact customers directly via email, while those who booked through other means should contact their respective agents or platforms.
WestJet Encore flights operated on a Q400 and code-share flights operated by airline partners are unaffected by the strike.
Past Strikes and Context
In the previous summer, Air Canada faced a strike from its flight attendants over similar issues, affecting over 100,000 travelers during peak season. The strike lasted three days before reaching a resolution with the airline.