WestJet flight attendants have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate, with 99.4% of members supporting possible job action, raising concerns about potential travel disruptions during the busy summer vacation season.The vote involved approximately 4,400 WestJet and WestJet Encore flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The union said the vote gives members the ability to take job action if negotiations with the airline fail, but it does not mean a strike will happen immediately.According to CUPE, 97.3% of eligible flight attendants participated in the vote. The strike mandate comes after nearly 10 months of contract negotiations between the union and WestJet.CUPE has said key issues include wages, scheduling, and compensation for work flight attendants perform outside of the time they are officially paid for, including duties before and after flights..The union argues flight attendants spend significant time completing required tasks on the ground, including preparing aircraft cabins, boarding passengers and completing post-flight responsibilities, without full compensation.On Tuesday, flight attendants demonstrated their support for possible job action by holding information pickets outside WestJet’s Calgary campus and at international airports in Calgary and Winnipeg.“WestJet flight attendants are committed to reaching a deal at the table,” Alia Hussain, president of CUPE Local 8125 told Global News.“We are renegotiating or attempting to renegotiate the archaic flight credit system that, through the very nature of how it works, creates an exploitation of labour, which causes flight attendants to have to work up to approximately 35 hours a month of free hours and we are trying to change that,” Hussain said.WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech met briefly with flight attendants on the Calgary picket line Tuesday morning, saying the airline recognizes their important role and wants to reach a new agreement with improved compensation and contract terms.“The last contract has been running for five years. It was done in the middle of the pandemic, so there’s a lot of catch-up to be done because they fell behind inflation." von Hoensbroech said."So we absolutely recognize that a significant improvement is necessary, and that’s what they’re telling us, and that’s why they’re picketing out there,” .WestJet has said it remains committed to reaching an agreement through negotiations and that it believes the bargaining process is the best path forward.The issue of unpaid work has also been a major point of contention in the airline industry. Last August, approximately 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike over concerns that they were not being compensated for certain jobs performed before and after flights.The Air Canada flight attendants’ strike last summer was ultimately resolved after the federal government intervened and directed the dispute to binding arbitration, leading to a new agreement between the airline and the union.As WestJet faces the possibility of labour action, another Canadian airline received positive labour news Tuesday. The union representing 270 Flair Airlines pilots announced that members had overwhelmingly approved a new collective agreement with the airline.The Air Line Pilots Association said the three-year deal, which takes effect immediately, includes improvements to compensation, retirement benefits, scheduling, career advancement opportunities, and overall quality of life. The agreement was approved by 89% of eligible pilots who cast a ballot..A strike mandate allows the union to consider job action if talks break down, but several steps must still take place before a legal strike could occur. The two sides can continue negotiating in an effort to reach a deal and avoid disruptions for travellers.The potential dispute could have a major impact in Calgary, where WestJet is headquartered and where Calgary International Airport serves as one of the airline’s largest hubs.For now, WestJet flights continue to operate as scheduled while negotiations continue. A strike is not imminent, but if the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the earliest a legal strike could take place is August 2.
