The looming strike by WestJet’s unionized mechanics was averted with the federal government intervening on Thursday, just one day before workers were set to walk off the job.
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said in a statement posted to X that he had ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to impose final binding arbitration “to resolve outstanding terms of the collective agreement.
The union workers were planning to go on strike as early as Friday 7:30 p.m. ET, but following O’Regan’s statement the Aircraft and Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), the mechanics’ union, said there was “no modern precedent” for the minister’s actions but would comply with the order. It added it directs its members to refrain from any unlawful job action.
WestJet, in a posted statement, said it had confirmation O’Regan directed the CIRB to help it and the AMFA reach a collective agreement.
“WestJet and AMFA will enter final binding arbitration to resolve the outstanding terms of the collective agreement,” the statement said.
“Given this, a strike or lockout will not occur, and the airline will no longer proceed in cancelling flights.”
The move comes after WestJet had started cancelling flights ahead of the busy travel weekend and possible job action.
Approximately 25 flights had been cancelled for Thursday and Friday, impacting roughly 3,300 customers, WestJet said in a news release.
WestJet said it is “ramping up its operations as quickly and efficiently as possible” to resume operations and said passengers should check their flights’ status before leaving for the airport.
This week, the Calgary-based airline said it had received a second strike notice in over a week from the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents some 670 aircraft maintenance engineers and other skilled-trade positions at the carrier.
O’Regan said he had referred WestJet and the AMFA to the board on June 18, but said the parties remained far apart and “tensions have only increased since last Tuesday.”
The timing of the potential job action could have disrupted the travel plans of more than 250,000 customers who are scheduled to travel over the July long weekend, the airline said.
“As we quickly approach the July long weekend, it is especially devastating that the strike notice we have received from AMFA forces us to begin cancelling flights and parking aircraft, for the second time in just over a week,” Diederik Pen, president of WestJet Airlines and group chief operating officer said, before the apparent resolution.
In the WestJet statement, he said “the summer travel plans of Canadians have been protected and we have a path to resolution.”
The AMFA had accused WestJet of suing it without notifying its negotiators, who are working with the airline on a new collective bargaining deal.
The union said WestJet’s statement about a strike putting it and travellers in peril is “inflammatory” and is urging WestJet to spend more negotiating with union representatives.
Union members overwhelmingly voted to reject a tentative deal earlier this month and have opposed WestJet’s request for arbitration.
Speaking to reporters in Calgary on Wednesday, WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said that the airline’s maintenance engineers are already “among the best paid in Canada,” earning $109,000 annually on average.
Von Hoensbroech said the airline has put out a “very strong” offer of a 22 per cent increase in pay after four years.
Other Canadian airlines, like Air Canada and Porter, are not looking to add flights to their schedules in response to the WestJet cancellations
“We are entering the peak summer travel period and our aircrafts are fully committed and already quite full, therefore we have limited additional capacity,” Air Canada told Global News in an emailed statement Thursday.
Porter Airlines also said it was operating its regular full schedule across the country and no additional measures are being taken at this time.
WestJet also cancelled dozens of flights last week before the union rescinded its strike notice and resumed talks.
Pen, WestJet’s president, said the airline remains at the bargaining table and is committed to reaching an agreement.
— with files from Global News’ Ken MacGillivray and The Canadian Press
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