WestJet has announced that the ongoing strike by the mechanics union is leading to more flight cancellations, affecting the travel plans of many passengers over the Canada Day long weekend.
“Missed vacation plans, stranded business travelers, and disrupted family reunions over the long weekend have all been affected by AMFA’s decision to strike. We sincerely apologize to the thousands of Canadians impacted by this unnecessary work stoppage,” said Diederik Pen, president of WestJet Airlines and chief operating officer of WestJet Group.
Mr. Pen also expressed WestJet’s belief that the union’s strike is causing harm to the airline and the country without serving any real purpose.
“WestJet has been issued a binding arbitration order and is awaiting urgent clarification from the government that a strike and arbitration cannot happen simultaneously,” he added.
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Airplane mechanics went on strike on the evening of June 28.
‘Misuse of the Right to Strike’
WestJet has now canceled 832 flights from Thursday, June 27, to Tuesday, July 2, as stated in their June 30 news release, with 424 flights canceled on Sunday alone. Additionally, the release mentioned 284 flights canceled on June 29, 78 on July 1, and 3 on July 2.
“Today’s cancellations are accompanied by the airline parking additional aircraft as it reduces its fleet to approximately 32 active tails. WestJet will operate a reduced schedule with the remaining fleet for as long as the labor action continues,” the news release stated.
“Strikes and lockouts are valid tools during collective bargaining, but once arbitration begins, there should be no further bargaining, rendering a strike ineffective,” he explained.
Mr. von Hoensbroech accused the AMFA, representing the airline’s aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) and technical operations team, of acting in bad faith.
‘Sacred’ Right
In an update to its members on June 29, the AMFA cited a June 28 ruling by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) stating that the minister’s arbitration order does not suspend the right to strike or lockout.
“Although compulsory arbitration is set to proceed quickly, the CIRB has ruled that until that process is complete, we can continue our legal strike,” AMFA stated, emphasizing the AMEs’ right to strike as a “sacred” right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“There’s a lot at stake here, and Canadians need a resolution,” he emphasized.
The Associated Press and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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