With WestJet mechanics out on a surprising strike, the airline has cancelled 150 flights for 29JUN, and it warns more could be coming.
Mechanics walked off the job at 7:30 p.m. ET on 28JUN, an action the union says is perfectly legal despite a ministerial order that union reps and WS undergo binding arbitration to come up with a new bargaining agreement.
A couple of hours later, WestJet announced it will cancel 150 flights — possibly affecting 20,000 travellers. It also warned that re-accommodation options for pax are limited, and that more cancellations could come on 28JUN.
"Additional cancellations are anticipated by Saturday morning if the strike is not called off, or intervention does not happen immediately," the company said in a release issued Saturday just after midnight in Calgary, where the airline is based.
"WestJet is actively and aggressively pursuing every avenue to minimize disruption, including asking for immediate intervention by the minister of labour."
The strike is a huge headache for consumers and travel advisors who no doubt are fielding many angry calls and emails from frustrated travellers on the busy Canada Day weekend.
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said on his Twitter/X feed that he's looking at ways to protect consumers, the union and WestJet. He also suggested that CIRB didn't follow his directive by allowing a legal strike to take place.
"We welcome the Minister’s confirmation that the CIRB has not followed the direction provided," WestJet said on its own Twitter/X account. "This matter is urgent, and we await resolution on behalf of our guests and communities."
Most Canadians didn’t see this coming. 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 at 7:30 p.m. ET on 28JUN, the Friday night of the long weekend.
The move took many by surprise, but the union said their right to strike was never revoked.
“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees employees’ fundamental right to strike,” the mechanics union said on its website. “AMFA counsel argued that because the referral by the Minister was silent on the issue, AMFA members’ constitutional right to strike must prevail.
“The Board (CIRB) had found only last week that AMFA’s right to strike persisted.”
AMFA said the union and WS continued to discuss the arbitration process the afternoon of 28JUN in separate breakout rooms.
“At 7:30 p.m. Eastern, having had no indication that the Board would revoke AMFA’s strike notice, AMFA directed its members to cease all work,” the union said. “At approximately 8:00 p.m. Eastern, the Board reconvened the parties and confirmed that it would not enjoin the AMFA strike.”
“AMFA’s bargaining committee is standing by to continue discussions with the Company,” the statement said. “The parties are separated by economic difference of approximately 7%, less than $8 million dollars a year.”
WestJet lashed out hard at the union, saying it was outraged by the mechanics’ action.
“A strike serves no one, as this negotiation has already been referred to binding arbitration. We know how painful this is for our guests and our people; however, we must start the immediate and safe parking of our aircraft,” said Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Group Chief Operating Officer.
“The scale of this deliberate disruption is devastating and AMFA must be held accountable for their reckless actions. Without immediate intervention, significant disruption will unnecessarily harm tens of thousands of Canadians along with the entire economic ecosystem that depends on our critical air service.”
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.
OpenJaw is closely monitoring this rapidly moving situation and will have more reports as the situation evolves.
