By Ben Forrest | May 28, 2018 Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 20 seconds.
WestJet and the union representing WestJet pilots have agreed to a settlement process that has removed the threat of a pilots strike, the airline announced on May 25.
Negotiations will continue between WestJet and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and the parties will move into arbitration after a matter of weeks, WestJet president and CEO Edward Sims told reporters.
“WestJet guests can now continue to book and travel in absolute confidence around their trip,” he said.
“WestJet continues to fly with the same caring attitude to all of our guests that we’ve always offered and will continue to offer.”
WestJet pilots voted 91 per cent in favour of a strike on May 10 after failing to reach their first contract with the airline. The pilots were in a legal position to strike as of May 19, but committed to having no job action over Victoria Day Weekend.
There had been a significant impact on bookings since the “first call for a mandate for strike action from ALPA’s Master Executive Council,” said Sims.
“That impact has become more pronounced during the course of the last week.”
Both sides will continue to sit around the negotiating table, and the negotiating will conclude with binding arbitration, said Sims.
“We don’t have a fixed timeline, but we believe this will be a matter of weeks rather than months,” he said.
A major sticking point in the negotiations has been whether or not WestJet pilots would staff Swoop, the airline’s new ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC).
“ALPA’s pilots were very keen to ensure that, effectively, WestJet pilots could actually operate Swoop,” said Sims.
“We have agreed that will be part of the arbitrated agreement. That’s a subject that will continue to be discussed in arbitration.”
Sims, an industry veteran with more than 30 years in tourism and aviation in the European and Australian markets, said he has been through seven negotiations with ALPA at various stages of his career.
“I would have to say that reaching agreed levels on the figures on which we were negotiating was a more difficult process than I’ve ever experienced before,” he said.
“We have been completely aligned with ALPA’s master executive council that we’d like a settlement reached as soon as possible,” he added.
“I think, on our most optimistic, [we’re] probably saying within the next few weeks, and ideally no later than the end of June.”
ALPA released a brief statement on its website, confirming the two sides had agreed to a settlement process and thanking Patricia A. Hajdu, the federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, for her role in the process.
“WestJet guests can now book and travel with confidence,” said ALPA in the statement.
