Placing plane upkeep engineers and technical workers represented by the Plane Mechanics Fraternal Affiliation union stand on a picket line in opposition to Westjet Airways at Vancouver Worldwide Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, June 29, 2024. | Photograph credit score: Reuters
Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet, mentioned it cancelled 407 flights affecting 49,000 passengers after the upkeep staff’ union introduced it was happening strike.
The Plane Mechanics Fraternal Affiliation mentioned its members started hanging Friday night time as a result of the airline’s “unwillingness to barter with the union” made it inevitable.
The shock strike affecting home and worldwide flights got here after the federal authorities issued a binding arbitration ministerial order on Thursday. This adopted two weeks of turbulent discussions with the union over a brand new settlement.
WestJet mentioned it should proceed to park planes by way of Sunday throughout the lengthy weekend that culminates with Canada Day on Monday. The airline has about 200 planes and says it should function about 30 on Sunday night time.
The airline’s chief govt, Alexis von Hoensbroech, laid the blame for the state of affairs squarely on what he referred to as a “rogue US union” that was making an attempt to make inroads in Canada.
Von Hoensbroech mentioned that so far as the airline was involved, negotiations with the union had come to an finish as soon as the federal government referred the dispute to binding arbitration.
“This makes a strike completely absurd, as a result of the rationale why you go on strike is as a result of it’s worthwhile to put strain on the negotiating desk,” he mentioned. “If there is no such thing as a negotiating desk, it is senseless, there ought to be no strike.”
He added that the union had rejected a contract supply that will have made the airline’s mechanics the “highest paid within the nation.”
In an replace to its membership, the union’s bargaining committee referred to a Canada Industrial Relations Board order that doesn’t explicitly prohibit any strikes or lockouts whereas the tribunal conducts arbitration.
Sean McVeigh, a WestJet plane upkeep engineer who picketed Saturday at Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport, mentioned the strike is an try and pressure the airline to return to “respectful negotiation.”
McVeigh mentioned the union regrets any inconvenience brought about to passengers.
“Nonetheless, the rationale they (passengers) probably missed a flight or needed to cancel it’s as a result of WestJet isn’t respectfully coming to the desk and negotiating,” he mentioned together with about 20 different folks on the picket line.
“We tackle numerous duty and we’d identical to to be valued financially,” he mentioned.
At Pearson, WestJet passengers Samin Sahan and Samee Jan mentioned they’d deliberate to go away Saturday with relations on a visit to Calgary that had been deliberate to final six to eight months.
Sahan mentioned they’d acquired emails earlier within the day informing them that their flight had been rescheduled for Monday, however they went to the terminal anyway. He mentioned their efforts to hunt clarification, mixed with the strike, had left their journey plans up within the air.
“This inaction is hurting lots of people, their very own companies and their prospects, who will in all probability by no means be their prospects once more,” Sahan mentioned.
Jan described the state of affairs as “unhappy.”
