WestJet mechanics pause plans to strike as discussions continue
WestJet mechanics have paused their plans for industrial action as negotiations progress between the carrier and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).
With the airline having requested arbitration, the Canadian…
June 21, 2024
WestJet mechanics have paused their plans for industrial action as negotiations progress between the carrier and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).
With the airline having requested arbitration, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) has advised it will require “additional time and submissions from both parties” before deciding whether or not collective bargaining for WestJet’s first agreement should be resolved this way. In the meantime, AMFA has rescinded its 72 hour strike notice, with both parties to return to the negotiating table in the hope of finding a resolution.
As of 18 June, WestJet began cancelling and consolidating flights in anticipation of an upcoming strike by its aircraft maintenance engineers and tech ops employees. “Following the [AMFA members’] nearly unanimous decision to reject a generous tentative agreement that would have made our Aircraft Maintenance Engineers the highest paid in the country, with a take-home pay increase of 30 to 40 per cent in the first year of the proposed agreement, it is clear that the bargaining process has broken down,” explained Deiderik Pen, president of WestJet Airlines and group chief operating officer.
