Expressing frustration after six months of failed negotiations, the union representing WestJet pilots says it expects to launch a strike authorization vote today (Monday) as contract talks with management drag on. If successful, pilots would be in a position to strike by the long weekend in May.
The 15-day authorization vote would set the stage for the bargaining team to call a strike following a three-week “cooling-off period,” which in turn would begin after the ongoing federal conciliation process wraps up April 24.
The strike mandate vote, announced Friday during a union demonstration at WestJet headquarters at the Calgary airport, comes amid a severe pilot shortage as airlines struggle to shore up bottom lines badly dented by the pandemic.
Bernard Lewall, who heads the Air Line Pilots Association’s 1,600-member WestJet contingent says the membership is “frustrated” at bargaining with a company he claims has failed to seriously engage with it.
Issues revolve around wages, scheduling, and work conditions at WestJet and its discount subsidiary Swoop, with Lewall stating that 39 pilots have opted to leave for other airlines in the past month alone.
WestJet said the threat of a strike is a “common and expected tactic” in the negotiation process.
“However, that does not mean a strike will occur. WestJet is committed to this process and will continue to work with ALPA to reach a collective agreement that provides value to our current and future pilots, is sustainable for the company and avoids disruption to our guests,” spokeswoman Madison Kruger said in an email.
Lewall said their wages remain well below the North American industry standard. Meanwhile, pilots are being asked to spend more time away from home. “We’re already away from our families half the month.”
One stumbling block is “equal pay for equal work,” said Lewall.
Currently, pilots who fly under the Swoop banner are paid less than those who fly for WestJet. With the company’s takeover of leisure carrier Sunwing approved by the federal government on March 10, Lewall said the union is worried it could lead to the creation of yet another class of pilots with a different pay scale.
“We could find ourselves in a place where there would be three
airlines basically within WestJet who are all operating the same aircraft for different wages and with different conditions,” he said.
Proposed last March, the Sunwing acquisition will see Calgary-based WestJet bolster its vacation package offerings as it adds the tour operator to its fleet, though the two brands will be marketed separately.
Poised for completion in the next few weeks, the takeover marks a major consolidation of the Canadian aviation market following a tumultuous year for travel.
WestJet pilots first unionized in May 2017, signalling a major shift in culture at the famously non-union airline.
Since then, other employee groups at the company have also unionized, including flight attendants and certain airport employees.
The pilots’ first union contract, which expired at the end of last year, was the result of an arbitrated settlement reached in 2018. That deal averted a threatened strike, as WestJet pilots had voted in favour of job action after contract talks fell apart.