WestJet flies out of Medicine Hat Regional Airport on a daily basis. File Photo/CHAT News

By Canadian Press, CHAT News Staff

WestJet strike likely averted as Ottawa imposes arbitration on airline, mechanics

Jun 27, 2024 | 3:57 PM

A possible long-weekend strike at WestJet that would have impacted flights across the country and at Medicine Hat Regional Airport has been averted.

The federal government on Thursday directed the airline and plane mechanics into binding arbitration to resolve their dispute, a move all but certain to avoid a work stoppage that could otherwise have disrupted flights for hundreds of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend.

In a late-afternoon social media post, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said he was invoking his authority under the Canada Labour Code to resolve the impasse between the two sides as the clock ticked down toward a Friday evening deadline.

“Strong first agreements set unions and employers on the path of collective bargaining,” O’Regan said in a statement.

“They set a strong foundation to build upon at the bargaining table and bring the parties one step closer to a strong second agreement and an even stronger third agreement — reached at the bargaining table. That’s what we want to see here.”

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The Canada Industrial Relations Board could opt not to suspend the right to a work stoppage as it hammers out a contract, but precedent suggests that outcome is unlikely.

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association first served the carrier with a 72-hour strike notice on June 17, prompting WestJet to cancel nearly 50 flights last week before both sides agreed to resume negotiations.

The second strike notice came Tuesday amid tense negotiations over a first collective agreement between WestJet and some 680 maintenance engineers.

Union members voted overwhelmingly to reject a tentative deal earlier this month and opposed WestJet’s request for intervention by the country’s labour tribunal — a submission that triggered the union’s initial strike threat.

Just over a year ago, the airline found itself in a similar situation after some 1,800 pilots threatened to walk off the job.

WestJet averted a strike after reaching a last-minute deal in the wee hours ahead of a long weekend in May, but not before cancelling more than 230 flights and disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers.