WestJet Airlines Ltd., Canada’s second-largest carrier, is making preparations for a potential strike by its maintenance engineers as early as Thursday night, leading to the cancellation of around 50 flights in Canada and the US. The Calgary-based company, owned by private equity firm Onex Corp., is taking these preemptive measures to ensure the smooth relocation of aircraft and minimize passenger inconvenience, affecting around 6,500 travelers.
Diederik Pen, WestJet’s president, expressed disappointment over the need to activate their contingency plan due to the strike notice. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, representing over 680 workers, doubts that WestJet will be able to secure enough qualified replacement maintenance engineers to continue operations in the event of a strike.
While WestJet is exploring all options to accommodate passengers and consolidate flights, cancellations appear to be the only immediate solution. Despite a tentative agreement reached in May being rejected by over 97% of union members, efforts to avoid a strike are ongoing. WestJet has proposed to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to enforce binding arbitration, a move that the union opposes in favor of further negotiations.
In the ongoing discussions, maintenance workers are seeking higher pay, with the tentative agreement offering a significant increase in take-home pay in the first year. However, the union argues that a portion of this increase was already earmarked for members' retirement funds, indicating the complexity of the negotiations. As both sides navigate the possibility of industrial action, the fate of WestJet’s operations and passengers hangs in the balance.