WestJet plane mechanics took to the picket line in a surprise move that threatened to disrupt flights for thousands of travellers at the start of the Canada Day long weekend. A WestJet passenger plane parked at a departure gate at Calgary International Airport, Wednesday, May 31, 2023. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh
WestJet plane mechanics took to the picket line Friday evening, a surprise move that could disrupt flights for thousands of travellers at the start of the Canada Day long weekend.
In a statement, WestJet said Canadians can expect “significant travel disruptions” if the AMFA strike is not called off.
The surprise strike by the Aircraft Maintenance Technician Brotherhood Association (AMFA) came a day after WestJet expressed relief that it had avoided a strike thanks to a ministerial order calling for binding arbitration after a tumultuous two-week dispute with the union.
The country's second-largest airline has again called on the federal labour minister and the Canada Labour Relations Board to intervene immediately.
“We are deeply outraged by these actions and intend to hold AMFA 100% responsible for the unnecessary stress and costs that have resulted,” WestJet President Diederick Peng said in a statement.
About 680 WestJet employees walked out at 5:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time, the union said in a statement, arguing the strike was inevitable given the airline's “refusal to negotiate with the union.”
But WestJet said that because the future collective bargaining agreement is in the hands of the country's labor court, a strike would give the union no leverage and amount to “pure retaliation.”
Mechanics voted overwhelmingly earlier this month to reject a tentative agreement with the Calgary-based airline, prompting WestJet to seek government intervention and the union to serve two 72-hour strike notices, the first of which was cancelled last week.
With Friday's deadline looming, Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan on Thursday ordered airlines and unions into binding arbitration, averting a strike that could upend plans for up to 250,000 passengers over one of the busiest weekends of the year.
On Thursday night, both WestJet and the union said they would comply with the order, and a strike was apparently not under consideration.
“AMFA has confirmed that it will comply with the instructions, which means there will be no strikes or lockouts and the airline will not cancel any future flights,” WestJet said in a statement Thursday.
That made Friday night's change of policy an even bigger shock to business executives and travelers.
“Is my flight on Sunday at risk?” Andrew Wheatley of Edmonton asked in a social media post.
WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell said in an email that no further flights were canceled Friday night, but weekend flights remained in limbo as of midnight because mechanics are needed to inspect and repair planes each day.
“There is no risk to the safety of our operations,” Bell said.
In an update to members, the union's negotiating committee referred to the protection of collective action under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Industrial Relations Board also said the arbitration tribunal had not expressly prohibited strikes or lockouts while arbitrating as instructed by O'Regan.
“As the minister's referral is silent on this issue, the AMFA members' constitutional right to strike must prevail,” the union committee said.
“As there was no indication that the Board would rescind AMFA's strike notice, AMFA has instructed its members to cease all work.”
Tensions between the two sides had already reached breaking point over the past month.
The strike notice has forced WestJet to cancel about 70 flights since June 20, affecting about 10,000 passengers and potentially costing the company millions of dollars. The airline's decision to centralize its 180 aircraft was made to avoid leaving planes in remote locations during work stoppages, leaving passengers and crew stranded.
As negotiations over the deal dragged on this week in a windowless conference room at a hotel near Toronto's Pearson Airport, the tone of statements from both sides grew grimmer.
The union's demands for negotiation show it is not acting in good faith and its public statements contain “inflammatory” and “offensive” elements, an affidavit by lawyers representing WestJet argued.
In a letter to WestJet senior management on Friday, union national president Brett Estrich alleged that the airline had “engaged in related misconduct” by cutting off further negotiations.
Just over a year ago, the airline found itself in a similar situation after around 1,800 pilots threatened to walk off the job.
WestJet averted a strike by reaching a last-minute agreement in the middle of the night ahead of the May long weekend, but not before cancelling more than 230 flights and disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2024.
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
