The operations of WestJet slowly recover as a tentative agreement is reached with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which means that the labor dispute by members of cabin crews of the airline has ended — for now, at least.
WestJet Operations Slowly Recover As Tentative Agreement is Reached
The following message was posted at the official Internet web site of WestJet:
WestJet has begun restoring its schedule following a tentative agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing WestJet Cabin Crew. Some flights may continue to be affected as operations recover. Please check your flight status before departing for the airport and visit our travel advisories for the latest information and available options.
WestJet Mainline flight attendants have reached a tentative agreement after strike action helped bring the parties to a resolution. With the strike now over, flight attendants will be returning to work. If ratified, the agreement improves upon the legacy flight credit system by introducing a duty period premium that recognizes more of the work cabin crew are required to perform and increases compensation for that work.
CUPE 8125 President Alia Hussain said, “This tentative agreement represents meaningful progress. It evolves the flight credit system by recognizing more of the work cabin crew are required to perform and with general increases to compensation for that work. Most importantly, this agreement was achieved through collective bargaining at the negotiating table. We will now present the agreement to our members for their review and ratification vote.”
“To our members, thank you for your solidarity throughout this process. We also want to thank the public, labour organizations, and everyone who supported cabin crew as we worked toward a fair resolution.”
The tentative agreement will now be presented to the membership for review and a ratification vote. Details of the agreement will be shared directly with members in advance of the vote.
Negotiations between WestJet and the Canadian Union of Public Employees — which represents approximately 4,400 members of cabin crews — had previously been unsuccessful despite ongoing contract talks since late 2025. One of the most significant unresolved issues was compensation for tasks performed prior to takeoff — including boarding passengers and completing safety procedures as two of many examples.
Final Boarding Call
Labor disputes pertaining to commercial aviation in Canada do not seem to occur all that often; so the news that the operations of WestJet is recovering is good news — and hopefully a full recovery of operations returns as quickly as possible for the second largest airline in Canada.
You can read about my first experience as a passenger with WestJet in this article.
All photographs ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
