It’s official. WestJet pilots, through their union, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), have issued a 72-hour strike notice to the airline management and the government. The notice isn’t a complete surprise and was speculated to be issued sooner rather than later. WestJet pilots are demanding competitive wages and have locked horns with the management. But the long-drawn-out negotiations have not been successful.

Strike notice

WestJet pilots have issued a 72-hour strike notice, starting the clock on the three-day countdown, following which they will legally utilize all the options available to them under the Canada Labour Code. Capt. Bernard Lewall, chair of the WestJet ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC), commented,

“After nine months of negotiating, management still fails to understand today’s labour market conditions, leading to a mass exodus of our pilots in search of better work opportunities, and more will follow if this agreement does not meet our pilots’ needs.

“Without the economic and job security improvements our pilots require, WestJet will be parking planes, as they will not have enough pilots to operate them or accomplish its own growth strategy.”

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The pilots are hoping that WestJet’s management will work to resolve the issues related to their wages during the notice period, and the union’s negotiators will be available 24/7 during this time. If an agreement or compromise is not reached, then as of 3:00 a.m. ET on May 19th, WestJet pilots plan to begin lawful job action, which could include grounding all aircraft and effectively shutting down operations.

Waiting for the weekend to get over

The timing of the notice was carefully thought out, with the union stating that this was done in good faith to keep operations running during the weekend and allow enough time to review additional proposals put forth by both parties.

In a podcast, Lewall also mentioned that the pilots did not want passengers to be stranded anywhere on the long weekend, which is why they didn’t choose to exercise their 72-hour cooldown period last Friday when they first had the ability to.

Demanding a salary revision

At the core of the issue lies the pilots’ demand to standardize their wages, keeping in mind what the cockpit crew is making elsewhere, particularly across the border in the US. The idea was rejected by the airline’s management, which said that contracts “reflect national labour laws, cost of living, economic environment and geography associated with the country a person is employed in.”

The union wants WestJet to know how dire the situation is, highlighting that, on average, a WestJet Group of Companies pilot leaves every 18 hours—mostly to fly for WestJet’s competitors.

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The airline’s pilots also conducted a rally and picket earlier this month, opposing the tone of the management in dealing with the issues. With the possibility of a strike threatening flight operations and travel plans of thousands of passengers, it remains to be seen what the outcome of the notice will be.

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  WestJet

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  WS/WJA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Calgary International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport

  Year Founded:

  1994

  CEO:

  Alexis von Hoensbroech

  Country:

  Canada