By Nandan Mandayam
Aug 3 (Reuters) – The union representing flight attendants at Canada’s WestJet reached a tentative deal with the country’s second-largest carrier on Monday, ending a strike that had resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and marking another win for cabin crew seeking better wage structures.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 flight attendants at the carrier, sought pay for its members from the time they check in until they clock out, instead of mostly just for time when their aircraft is in motion.
WestJet did not disclose details of the tentative agreement, which will now be presented to cabin crew members for a ratification vote. The union said it would share details of the agreement with its members ahead of the vote.
“It (agreement) 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,” the union’s president, Alia Hussain, said.
Attendants at the airline, which has a domestic market share of 30%, had gone on strike on Sunday after talks fell through.
The labour unrest had also followed a four-day strike by flight attendants last August at larger rival Air Canada that stranded half a million passengers. It is also the latest effort by attendants across the U.S. and Canada to challenge a compensation structure that mostly pays cabin crew when an aircraft is in motion.
WestJet, which flies to destinations in the U.S., the Caribbean, Central America and Europe, had cancelled 615 flights through August 4, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
The company, majority owned by Onex Corp, previously offered its attendants a 13% wage increase this year followed by 2.5% wage increases each year through 2029. It offered additional pay for all hours worked, equivalent to another 12% salary increase.
Canada’s jobs minister, Patty Hajdu, said in a statement that “the federal government and Canadians welcome the news that the parties have reached a deal together.”
Around 250,000 travelers have had their flights cancelled on a three-day holiday weekend in Canada, WestJet had said on Sunday.
(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru and Allison Lampert in Montreal, additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Maju Samuel)
