WestJet cabin crew plan informational pickets in Toronto & Calgary

With a potential job action on the horizon, the union representing some 4,600 flight attendants at WestJet and WestJet Encore has announced a “Day Of Action” in pursuit of a fair agreement.

Over the weekend, CUPE’s WestJet Component announced two informational pickets that will take place at Toronto YYZ (July 12) and Calgary YYC (July 14) airports.

“We need everyone to show up, step up, and make our voices heard,” the union wrote on its Facebook page. “This is our moment to show both the company and the public that we stand together as ONE voice.”

Informational pickets are public demonstrations, organized by labour unions, to raise awareness about workplace concerns. Unlike a strike, there is no work stoppage

The timeline

Cabin crew at WestJet's mainline operation have been working without a new collective agreement since their previous contract expired at the end of 2025.

Flight attendants at WestJet Encore will also be negotiating a new deal, with their collective agreement set to expire in July.

Negotiations for the mainline cabin crew began last September, shortly after the union served WestJet with its notice to bargain.

But in April, the union filed a formal notice of dispute with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, saying negotiations had failed to make "sufficient progress" on key issues, read a press release at the time.

That move triggered the federal conciliation process — a structured, time-limited phase lasting at least 60 days in which a government-appointed conciliator works with both sides to help advance negotiations.

The conciliation period officially began on May 12, 2026, and is scheduled to conclude on July 11.

If no tentative agreement is reached and neither side agrees to extend conciliation, a mandatory 21-day cooling-off period would follow.

Once that period ends, the union could legally call a strike, provided members approve a strike mandate.

WestJet, meanwhile, would also have the option of imposing a lockout. Either action would require 72 hours' notice.

If a strike does occur, it would mark the second labour disruption involving a WestJet bargaining unit in two years, following the maintenance workers' strike in June 2024.

The issues

At the heart of the dispute is what the union describes as a widening disconnect between the duties flight attendants perform and the way they are compensated.

Flight attendants are responsible for passenger safety from the moment they report for duty, yet much of that time is not fully paid under the current compensation model, the union says. 

According to CUPE, flight attendants perform an average of 35 hours of unpaid work each month.

“Flight attendants are performing increasingly demanding work in a safety-sensitive environment, and we are some of the lowest paid in Canada”, said Alia Hussain, president of CUPE 8125, in a statement last April.

“The system that governs our compensation was built for a different time, and it no longer reflects the value of work being done today.”

The union is also seeking improvements to scheduling and basic working conditions.

“Flight attendants have remained patient and professional throughout this process, but delays cannot continue,” Hussain added. “We are looking for meaningful progress at the table on issues that affect our members and their ability to provide reliable service for our guests.”

CUPE 8125 has emphasized that its goal is to achieve a negotiated agreement and minimize any impact on travellers.

“We understand how important travel is, particularly as we approach the busy summer season,” said Hussain in April. “Our focus is on securing a fair and sustainable agreement that reflects the realities of the job and the value of the work being done every day.”

The "standard pay model"

In a detailer posted to WestJet’s website, the airline explains that cabin crew are paid using a credit hour system, “which is the standard pay model for cabin crew across North America.”

A credit hour (equal to one flight time hour) is a unit of pay used in the airline industry to compensate cabin crew for a full range of duties, not just time spent in the air, the airline writes.

“Block hours start when the aircraft leaves the gate and end when it arrives at the gate,” the airline writes.

WestJet denies that its cabin crew perform unpaid work.

“The credit hour system provides wages on a basis other than duty time worked. Credit hours are calculated and paid as outlined in the collective agreement,” the airline writes. “All duty time — on the ground and in the air — is compensated according to the collective agreement.”

“WestJet’s pay system includes minimum guarantees and additional protections that increase compensation when duty days run longer than planned.”

See WestJet’s full explanation about cabin crew compensation here.

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.