WestJet warns of travel disruption as mechanics union opts for ‘continuation of strike action’

WestJet expressed its “outrage” that its airline’s maintenance engineers went on strike on Friday evening, as previously threatened.

The airline’s maintenance engineers (AMEs) say there was nothing that stopped them.

The federal government had previously ordered binding arbitration, but AMEs union representative Ian Evershed told CTV News: “That does not deter us or prevent us from exercising our right to strike at this time.”

Evershed said: “There is no indication in the minister’s letter of any direction on the issue of strike or lockout.”

WestJet issued a press release on Friday evening:

“The only reason for this union to continue the strike is to cause damage, disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Canadians over the July long weekend and impose significant costs on our company,” said Diederik Pen, president of WestJet Airlines.

“Because arbitration has been ordered, a strike will have no bearing on the outcome of the arbitration, so this is purely retaliation for a disgruntled union. We are extremely outraged by these actions and will hold (the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association) 100 percent accountable for the unnecessary stress and expense this has caused.”

WestJet’s press release said the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) “began a strike” at 5:30 p.m. MT on Friday.

The AMFA confirmed the following:

“The union continues to engage in dialogue with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and the airline to resolve this impasse. The AMEs had hoped this action would be unnecessary, but the airline’s unwillingness to negotiate made the strike inevitable,” the union said.

“While the AMEs and their union are eager to get back to work, the timing is entirely in the hands of WestJet management.”

Evershed told CTV News it was “absolutely not the union’s intention to disrupt Canadians’ travel plans or leave people stranded.”

Evershed said he wanted to see a solution and “the parties really aren’t that far apart. … We’re less than 10 percent apart.”

But it is important to get there, he said.

“We are the silent security guard in the background,” he said.

“People go to the airport every day. Thousands of people arrive at the airport and they see the pilot, they see the flight attendants, they come and get on the plane and they feel safe. They are happy and they are on their way. Nobody thinks about the aircraft maintenance technician.

“You don’t want to do that. You don’t want to think about the things that need to be done to keep the plane safe and airworthy.”

In a press release issued Friday evening, AMFA said it and WestJet had appeared earlier in the day “before the Canada Industrial Relations Board to discuss the Minister of Labour’s referral under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.”

“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees workers a fundamental right to strike. AMFA counsel argued that AMFA members’ constitutional right to strike must take precedence because the minister’s referral is silent on this issue,” the press release said.

“The parties continued to discuss the Section 107 arbitration together and in separate conference rooms. Time passed until the strike deadline of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

“At 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, AMFA instructed its members to stop work, although there was no indication that the board would withdraw AMFA’s strike notice.”

The AMFA press release continued that half an hour later, “the board called the parties together again and confirmed that it would not prohibit the AMFA strike.”

“The AMFA collective bargaining committee is ready to continue talks with the company,” the press release states.

A CIRB document provided to CTV News confirmed that the panel “finds that the referral to the Ministry does not have the effect of suspending the right to strike or lockout.”

WestJet said the company is “actively and aggressively pursuing all options to minimize disruption, including calling on the Minister of Labour and the Canada Industrial Relations Board to take immediate action.”

“If the strike is not ended immediately, significant travel disruptions must be expected,” the airline said.