WestJet’s flight attendants are heading back on board with a tentative deal that the union says addresses some issues surrounding unpaid work and wages. The agreement that must be ratified within 30 days marks just the first step of ramping operations back up after a brief, but disruptive and costly work stoppage. “Passengers and the public in general have been incredible on this issue of unpaid work,” said Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) president of local 8125 Alia Hussain. “I think it resonates with Canadians. It is a fairness conversation.” McGill University aviation expert, John Gradek, says lessons have to be learned from these 30 hours of turbulence and the 60-hour grounding at Air Canada last summer over similar issues. “In Canada, we let the whole system shut down,” says Gradek. “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.” Scrubbing hundreds of flights per day has cost WestJet millions of dollars. It says the deal reflects the hard work and professionalism of its flight attendants. “We know this disruption has been frustrating for our guests and WestJetters, and we’re sorry for that,” WestJet CEO Alexis Von Hoensbroech said in a statement. The airline also added that during the ratification process, a strike or lockout is not possible, meaning that customers can plan, book and travel with WestJet with certainty. CUPE said it would inform WestJet’s 4,400 flight attendants about the details of the deal before revealing the information publicly. It’s not clear yet with a vote will take place. But the union indicated that it believes the agreement more closely reflects the work of cabin crew members on the ground, for instance during safety checks and helping passengers with luggage before takeoff. CUPE has said this amounts to roughly 35 hours of work per month. “It improves on the long-standing flight credit system by recognizing more of the work that cabin crew are required to perform, and increasing the compensation for that work,” said Hussain. Flight attendants in North America have typically been paid through what the industry describes as a “flight credit system.” They were paid for time in the air, during the actual flight, and received supplements for ground duties like preparing the cabin and helping passengers with their baggage. But some airlines’ cabin crews have long argued this amounts to dozens of unpaid hours on the job per month, and that they should be paid from the moment they check in to the moment they clock out. In February, an arbitrator finalized a deal ending the labour dispute for Air Canada flight attendants that includes compensation for groundwork hours. “The union in that case wanted 100 per cent on the dollar. They ultimately agreed to a grid, where payment ultimately ramps up to 70 per cent of an hourly rate for up to an hour,” says labour lawyer Sundeep Gokhale, partner at Sherrard Kuzz LLP. While the deal at WestJet has not been made public, the airline had issued a press release in the hours after the strike, detailing what it called the “transformational” offer made to union representatives. It included wage increases and a new duty pay premium that the company said amounted to a further 12 per cent salary boost. If that formula is the one included in the tentative deal, it would differ from the one adopted at Air Canada which reflects an extra hour of work has been done, says Gokhale. “This model seems very different,” he says. “But we will see.” Ottawa did not step in during this dispute but said it was watching negotiations closely. “The federal government and Canadians welcome the news that the parties have reached a deal together, at the bargaining table,” said the Federal Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu in a post on X. The union says it was important that the agreement was reached through the collective agreement process without government intervention. “The parties remained at the table and worked through the outstanding issues, and eventually the puzzle pieces came together in a way that made sense for us to take to our membership,” said Hussain. Both the union and WestJet, said they are working hard to ramp up operations and get back to normal as quickly as possible, though it is not clear when a return to the full flight schedule will take place.
