WestJet begins cancelling flights ahead of maintenance workers’ strike | News
WestJet has cancelled 25 flights scheduled for June 27 and 28 due to a strike by maintenance workers during the upcoming busy weekend in Canada.
The first round of cancellations, which could begin as early as June 28, could disrupt the travel plans of around 3,300 WestJet passengers, but the airline points out that a weekend-long strike could affect 250,000 customers.
Calgary-based airline WestJet is initiating the cancellations to prevent customers, crew and aircraft from being stranded in remote locations.
“Over the next 48 hours, WestJet Group will work to phase out aircraft in a measured, gradual and safe manner,” the company said on June 26.
The carrier narrowly escaped a strike by maintenance workers on June 20, after proactively cancelling about 40 flights two days earlier. WestJet management and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) then returned to the negotiating table – just to negotiate fall apart Once again.
The union has announced a strike “less than a day after the parties agreed to return to the bargaining table for four days,” according to WestJet. The airline claims to have presented a “revised, industry-leading offer” that would increase maintenance workers’ salaries by 22% over four years.
“With the July long weekend fast approaching, it is particularly devastating that the strike notice we have received from AMFA is forcing us to cancel flights and park aircraft for the second time in just over a week,” said Diederik Pen, Chief Operating Officer of WestJet.
The maintenance workers’ union is seeking a collective agreement with improved pay, benefits and quality of life measures. Its recent strike notice was filed “in the hope that it will prompt WestJet to make a good faith offer to its employees,” AMFA said.
“AMFA has announced a strike in direct response to WestJet’s tariff refusal,” it continues.
The WestJet Group recently went through a similarly acrimonious process with its regional pilots, as the flight deck crews for WestJet Encore ratified a new five-year treaty at the second attempt – and only after threats of strike action that could have disrupted the airline’s passenger operations.
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