In a surprising development that WestJet says could cause “severe” travel disruptions, the airline’s mechanics went out on strike at 7:30 p.m. ET on 28JUN, 2024.
The federal Labour Minister on 27JUN directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to impose final binding arbitration to resolve the outstanding issues between the airline and the mechanics union.
The union said it would obey the order, and the travel industry in Canada breathed a huge sigh of relief. But members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) walked off the job on 28JUN, the Friday night of the long weekend.
At 7:30 P.M. Eastern Time, WestJet AME’s (Aircraft Maintenance Engineers) commenced their strike action against the company,” AMFA said in a statement. “The union remains engaged in dialogue with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and the airline to resolve this impasse.
“The AME’s were hopeful this action would be unnecessary but the airline’s unwillingness to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable,” the union said. “While the AME’s and their union are eager to get back to work, the timeline for that is very much in the hands of WestJet management.”
WestJet lashed out hard at the union, saying it was outraged by the mechanics’ action.
“The only reason for this union to continue with a strike action is to create damage, disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Canadians over the July long weekend and to inflict significant costs on our business,” said Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Group Chief Operating Officer. “Given arbitration has been ordered, a strike has no leverage on the arbitration’s outcome, so it is pure retaliation of a disappointed union.
“We are extremely outraged at these actions and will hold AMFA 100% accountable for the unnecessary stress and costs incurred as a result.”
WestJet said it’s “actively and aggressively pursuing every avenue to minimize disruption, including asking for immediate intervention by the Minister of Labour and the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
“Severe travel disruption is to be expected if the strike is not called off immediately, as the network takedown can no longer happen in the orderly manner that WestJet had originally planned.”
The airline said pax are advised to check the status of their flight prior to leaving for the airport. They also urged the public to visit WestJet’s Guest Updates page for more information regarding flight status, travel changes and more.
WS began to cancel flights ahead of a potential mechanics strike prior to the minister's order. The airline said 25 trips scheduled for 27JUN and 28JUN were cancelled in anticipation of a possible AMFA strike.
How WestJet will cope without its mechanics on the job is anyone’s guess. But McGill University aviation expert John Gradek told the Toronto Star on 27JUN that a mechanics’ strike would ground 90% of WS flights.
OpenJaw is closely monitoring this rapidly moving situation and will have a report on the weekend.
