More and more flights cancelled as WestJet mechanics go on strike

Calgary-based airline WestJet has cancelled more than 200 flights after the aircraft mechanics union announced late Friday that its members had set up picket lines.

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) announced that its members began striking around 5:30 p.m. MDT on Friday because the airline’s “unwillingness to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable.”

The move came after the federal government issued a ministerial decree on Thursday for binding arbitration and two weeks of turbulent negotiations with the union over a new agreement.

Union representatives are seeking a new collective agreement that provides for higher wages and social benefits.

Speaking to reporters in Calgary on Saturday, WestJet President Diederik Pen said the strike had resulted in the cancellation of 235 flights by Saturday morning and affected about 33,000 people.

If no solution is found on Saturday, the airline is expected to cancel another 150 flights.

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WestJet flights typically carry around 70,000 guests over the Canada Day long weekend, more than the 65,000 guests WestJet normally carries on weekends.

“The stress and devastation this causes is unnecessary and hurts us all,” Pen said.

“We are outraged and I just want to make sure you can be reassured that we are doing everything in our power to clarify the matter and get an intervention.”

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan’s order to instruct the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order arbitration marked the end of the negotiation process.

This would result in a single arbitrator deciding on a contract instead of both parties sitting at the negotiating table, he said.

“This makes a strike completely absurd, because the real reason for a strike is that you may have to exert pressure at the negotiating table,” said von Hoensbroech.

“If there is no negotiating table, none of this makes sense.”

The CIRB had previously ruled that it could not interfere with the free negotiation process or the right of workers to strike.

O’Regan issued a statement on Saturday saying he was reviewing the CIRB’s order and calling it “obviously inconsistent” with the instructions he had given.

“I will consider further steps to protect the interests of the employer, the union and all Canadians travelling this national holiday weekend,” O’Regan said.

In a letter to O’Regan, NDP labour critic Matthew Green expressed his “deep concern” about the commitment to final, binding arbitration.

He noted that the CIRB had only resorted to compulsory mediation seven times in the past 45 years, describing it as “a measure of last resort”.

“The premature publication of your order … represents a drastic departure from established practice and undermines the integrity of the collective bargaining process,” Green wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Global News.

He said the move sets a “worrying precedent that threatens the balance of power in industrial relations and the fundamental right of workers to freely and fairly negotiate their terms and conditions of employment.”

“It is imperative that the government respects the autonomy of the collective bargaining process and allows it to proceed without undue interference,” he said.

In an update to its members, the union published a letter from the board about its decision. It said that referring the matter to the minister did not result in “a suspension of the right to strike or lockout”.

“AMFA has offered to meet anytime, anywhere to resume negotiations,” the update said. “WestJet has not responded. That is the truth.”

Von Hoensbroech insisted that the union’s sole aim in the strike was to inconvenience as many travellers as possible.

On Thursday, the airline said AMFA had confirmed that it would comply with the instruction.

The change in situation seemed to shock travelers stranded at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday.

Hari Karan, a passenger from Vaughan, Ontario, was planning to travel to the Dominican Republic with his family.

“My kids were so excited and now they’re so sad,” Karan said. “It’s last minute. I’m just disappointed.”

“I was looking forward to going to the beach, … now we have to go home,” said his daughter Meera, 8.

Keith Ralph, 30, of Toronto was surprised to learn his flight to Barbados was canceled. Ralph said he is trying to get a standby flight or book a flight with Air Canada.

“I’ll think twice about booking my next flight with WestJet.”

AMFA members established a picket line outside Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson Airport.

Sean McVeigh, an aircraft maintenance technician at WestJet, told Global News that the airline’s decision to abandon negotiations and go to the labor minister for arbitration “changed everything.”

“Unfortunately, they ran out of time and we had no choice,” McVeigh said.

Meanwhile, von Hoensbroech stated that the union did not want to negotiate.

“A week ago there was an initial strike announcement, but it was then withdrawn after we agreed to four more days of negotiations,” he said.

“On the first day, after a few hours while we were still negotiating, they issued the next strike notice. This just shows that their only goal was to disrupt as many travelers as possible and not to come to a solution at the negotiating table.”

On Saturday, Pen said WestJet would reimburse customers for the cost of their canceled flights. Depending on their flight, some travelers may also be eligible for an overnight hotel stay, which will be covered by the airline.

Asked whether additional flights would be offered to help potentially stranded WestJet travellers, Air Canada told Global News ahead of Thursday’s strike that the airline was in its peak summer travel season.

“Our aircraft are at full capacity and already quite full, so we have limited additional capacity,” the company said in an email.

— with files from The Canadian Press and Gabby Rodrigues, Global News