Strike over, but will WestJet's deal hold? Meanwhile, recovery gathers pace

This article was updated on Tuesday, August 4 at 10:49 a.m. EST 

WestJet's labour dispute may be over, but one key hurdle remains before the airline can fully put the disruption behind it.

After a one-day strike that grounded hundreds of flights and upended travel plans during the August long weekend, WestJet and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have reached a tentative agreement that now heads to a ratification vote by the airline's roughly 4,400 flight attendants.

The agreement must be ratified within 30 days. During that period, WestJet says there can be no strike or lockout, giving customers confidence to book and travel while the voting process unfolds.

The tentative deal appears to address the core issues that fuelled the dispute: unpaid work and wages.

READ MORE: WestJet & CUPE reach tentative agreement, ending flight disruptions

CUPE has not yet released the details of the agreement, saying it will first brief members before making the terms public. A ratification vote has not yet been scheduled.

However, the union says the agreement better recognizes work performed on the ground, including pre-flight safety checks and assisting passengers with luggage before departure — duties CUPE has argued amount to roughly 35 hours of work each month.

“Meaningful progress”

In a statement Monday, CUPE 8125 President Alia Hussain said the 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,” said Hussain in a statement.

The dispute centred on the airline industry's long-standing "flight credit system," under which flight attendants are primarily paid for time spent in the air, with additional compensation for certain ground duties.

Unions have increasingly argued that the model leaves cabin crews performing dozens of unpaid hours every month, advocating instead for compensation from check-in until the end of their shift.

READ MORE: "Working around the clock": Travel advisors navigate chaos as WestJet strike grounds flights

The issue has become a broader industry flashpoint. Earlier this year, an arbitrator finalized an agreement ending the labour dispute involving Air Canada flight attendants that included compensation for groundwork hours. (At the time, CUPE, which also represents Air Canada's flight attendants, expressed disappointment with the outcome). 

WestJet has not confirmed whether its most tentative agreement follows a similar structure.

However, in the hours after the strike began, the airline publicly outlined what it described as its "transformational" offer, which included wage increases and a new duty pay premium that it said represented an additional 12 per cent salary increase.

For WestJet, ratification would close the chapter on a costly disruption that saw hundreds of flights cancelled and millions of dollars lost as the airline executed an organized shutdown of much of its network.

"We know this disruption has been frustrating for our guests and WestJetters and we're sorry for that,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of the WestJet Group, in a statement Monday.

Ottawa, notably, did not intervene in the dispute (as it did with Air Canada last summer), but said it was closely monitoring the negotiations.

“The federal government and Canadians welcome the news that the parties have reached a deal together, at the bargaining table,” wrote Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu in a post on X.

Lessons learned

While WestJet’s flights are now resuming, one observer says the broader lessons from the dispute should not be overlooked.

Speaking to CP24, McGill University aviation expert John Gradek pointed to both the WestJet strike and last summer's Air Canada labour disruption as evidence that Canada's aviation system remains vulnerable during labour disputes.

"In Canada, we let the whole system shut down," Gradek told the outlet. "And I say, wait a second, this is not the way we have to run business in the 21st century, especially when air travel is such a key element of our economy and our society."

For now, the focus shifts from the picket line to the ballot box, where WestJet's flight attendants will decide whether the tentative agreement delivers enough progress on the issues that prompted the strike.

Until that vote is complete, the long-term stability of the deal remains an open question.

Network normalizes

Meanwhile, WestJet is now ramping up its network after several turbulent days of cancellations.

"Flights have begun to operate; however, the impacts of the disruption continue as the airline works to restore its network," WestJet said in a statement Monday (Aug. 3). "Guests are encouraged to continue checking the status of their flights before heading to the airport."

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, WestJet has cancelled 925 flights since Aug. 1 as the Calgary-based airline worked through the labour disruption.

Over the weekend, as WestJet and CUPE negotiated a new deal in Calgary, Canadians raced to rebook flights and salvage travel plans during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

Some travellers were left hundreds – or even thousands – of dollars out of pocket, while family visits and long-planned vacations were thrown into uncertainty as they searched for answers from the airline, according to reports.

Other WestJet customers remain stranded in destinations, such as Iceland and Scotland, as they search for a way home. 

WestJet says passengers impacted by the strike will be refunded or reaccommodated "as applicable."

Additionally, as PAX reported, Canadian travel advisors have been working around the clock for their clients, rebooking itineraries, monitoring flight schedules and waiting on hold — much of it unpaid. 

The largest wave of cancellations came on Sunday (Aug. 2), when all 494 scheduled WestJet flights were scrapped after flight attendants walked off the job.

Another 305 of 494 scheduled flights (61.7 per cent) were cancelled on Monday (Aug. 3) as the carrier began the complex process of restarting its network.

But the recovery appears to be gaining momentum, with cancellations dropping sharply on Tuesday (Aug. 4) to just 16 flights as of 10:40 a.m. ET, representing 3.6 per cent of WestJet's 446 scheduled departures, says Cirium. 

No strike-related cancellations are scheduled for Wednesday (Aug. 5) or Thursday (Aug. 6), according to Cirium's data, although flight schedules remain subject to change.

WestJet has not provided a further update on its recovery since yesterday. This article will be updated as new information becomes available.

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