WestJet pilots despatched a 72-hour strike discover to airline administration and the federal authorities on Monday, starting a ultimate strike countdown as contract negotiations drag on.
The Air Line Pilots Affiliation (ALPA), which represents about 1,600 aircrew of WestJet and the Swoop subsidiary, mentioned in a press release that it was able to launch the discover over the weekend however delayed it to permit negotiations to proceed. The delay gave each side time. to think about further proposals, the union added.
“Though progress has been made on most non-monetary points, each side have been unable to achieve an settlement that might be within the pursuits of all events concerned,” the assertion mentioned.
The pilots are actually able to go on strike at 3 a.m. ET Friday if no deal is reached.
However the captain. Bernard Lewall, WestJet’s contingent chief, mentioned in a press release that the airline’s administration “nonetheless does not perceive at the moment’s labor market circumstances” that power pilots to look elsewhere for higher jobs.
“With out the financial enhancements and job safety our pilots want, WestJet will park planes as a result of they gained’t have sufficient pilots to fly them or implement their very own progress technique,” Lewall mentioned.
The union warned that the employment motion may embody grounding all plane owned by WestJet and “nearly shutting down operations.”
Employees’ issues are associated to job safety, pay and scheduling. The union claims that WestJet pilots go away the airline for opponents each 18 hours on common.
WestJet experiences that its most important facility has employed thrice as many pilots because it has laid off this yr.
In a press release this week, the Calgary-based airline mentioned its pilots are among the many highest paid in Canada, however {that a} contract on par with these just lately awarded by some US pilot teams can be financially unfeasible and jeopardize the corporate’s future.
“ALPA’s wage expectations, if realized, can have a major impression on WestJet’s capacity to stay aggressive and supply Canadians with inexpensive air journey,” the corporate mentioned.
The airline has but to touch upon Monday’s strike discover.
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