The union representing the WestJet aircraft mechanics, the AMFA, issued notice on June 28 that a strike that had previously believed to have been avoided would be going ahead.
As of 7:30 p.m. on Friday, the AMFA began their strike action against the airline in what they said was due to a shutdown of negotiations.
In a letter sent to the airline, they said that the shutdown of negotiations and alleged unlawful behaviour by the airline was the cause of the strike notice being issued.
“AMFA is secking an agrecment that will ensure labour peace and the best engineer workforce in the industry. That objective, an objective that we would like to believe is a shared one, can only be accomplished by good faith bargaining,” wrote Bret Oestreich, National President of the AMFA.
In a response to the strike, WestJet said they were outraged by the action being taken by the union and that they would be pursuing every avenue to avoid disruptions for passengers.
Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Group Chief Operating Officer, referenced a decision by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board made just days earlier for binding arbitration to occur between WestJet and the AMFA.
“The government has officially stepped in to provide binding arbitration and ensure we get to a resolution; the only reason for this union to continue with a strike action is to create damage, disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Canadians over the July long weekend and to inflict significant costs on our business,” Pen said.
“Given arbitration has been ordered, a strike has no leverage on the arbitration’s outcome, so it is pure retaliation of a disappointed union. We are extremely outraged at these actions and will hold AMFA 100 per cent accountable for the unnecessary stress and costs incurred as a result.”
A supermajority of 97.5 per cent of voting union members previously rejected WestJet’s contract offer at the beginning of June.
The airline said as a result of the strike, a planned “orderly” takedown of the WestJet network would not occur as had originally been planned and that severe travel disruptions were likely.
As of 8 p.m., one WestJet flights departing in Calgary had been cancelled for Friday, and two for Saturday. Across the network, approximately 25 flights had been cancelled.
