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Yesterday, I wrote about WestJet’s flight attendants going on strike and crippling operations yesterday. Now, WestJet and the union representing its cabin crew have reached a tentative labor agreement and ended a strike that disrupted flights across Canada during one of the busiest travel periods of the summer.
The agreement, reached between the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), brings an end to the labor action and withdraws both the strike and lockout notices. More than 4,000 WestJet flight attendants are now expected to return to work as the airline begins restoring normal operations. The proposed contract must still be approved by union members through a ratification vote before it becomes official.
The strike began in the early hours of August 2nd after negotiations failed to produce a last-minute breakthrough. Although flight attendants had already walked off the job, bargaining continued behind closed doors until both sides reached a tentative settlement.
One of the central issues throughout the negotiations was compensation for work performed before takeoff and during ground delays. Cabin crew argued they should be paid for duties such as boarding passengers and completing required safety procedures (rather than only for time spent in the air).
Neither WestJet nor CUPE has released the terms of the tentative agreement, but previous proposals from the airline included multi-year wage increases, higher layover allowances, expanded vacation benefits, scheduling improvements, and enhanced family leave provisions.
The work stoppage forced WestJet to cancel hundreds of flights and significantly reduce its schedule and left thousands of travelers scrambling to make alternate arrangements. With the dispute now temporarily resolved, the airline is expected to gradually rebuild its network over the coming days as aircraft, crews, and passengers return to their planned schedules.
Anthony’s Take: Further details of the agreement are expected to be shared with flight attendants before they vote on whether to ratify the new contract. It will take some time this week to get everything fully running again.
(Image Credits: WestJet.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
