Less than a week after a maintenance workers' strike was called off and union negotiations resumed, WestJet's operations are threatening to be disrupted again.
The Calgary-based airline says the strike could begin as early as June 28 and could disrupt flights for up to 70,000 passengers each day over the long weekend.
WestJet said the union filed the strike notice “less than a day after the two sides agreed to return to the negotiating table over four days.” The airline claims it has presented an “industry-leading revised proposal” that would raise mechanics' pay by 22 percent over four years.
“The union's demands go far beyond this threshold and remain unreasonable,” WestJet said.
The airline proactively canceled about 40 flights on June 18 in anticipation of the grounding to avoid stranding passengers, crew and aircraft in remote locations, and narrowly averted a strike on June 20.
However, the two sides agreed to return to the negotiating table at the last minute, seemingly avoiding further disruption to the network.
WestJet chief operating officer Diederick Peng said the threat of a second attack was “disheartening and unacceptable for our passengers, employees and the communities and businesses that rely on our service.”
“We sincerely regret that AMFA's tactics deliberately target a busy July long weekend to cause stress and anxiety to Canadians,” he added.
WestJet Group recently went through a similarly rigorous process with regional airline pilots when WestJet Encore cockpit crews approved a new five-year contract on a second try after threatening a strike that could have disrupted the airline's passenger service.
