WestJet Encore pilots may go on strike as quickly as April 17 after they permitted a strike mandate Tuesday, growing the prospect of headwinds after a bumpy 12 months for the airline’s proprietor.
Aviators at WestJet’s regional provider voted 97 per cent in favour of strike authorization after contract talks round pay, schedules and profession development got here to a “close to standstill,” the Air Line Pilots Affiliation stated. Some 89 per cent of pilots forged a poll.
“What that indicators to me is that our pilots are pissed off,” stated Carin Kenny, who heads the union’s WestJet Encore contingent.
The 355 pilots it represents can stroll off the tarmac 72 hours after union management information a strike discover. The potential job motion or lockout can solely happen after a 21-day cooling-off interval that began when federal conciliation between the 2 sides wrapped up final week.
WestJet Encore employs the lowest-paid regional pilots in Canada, driving some to hunt jobs elsewhere, Kenny stated.
The pilot scarcity that she says persists at Encore makes the leap to WestJet’s higher-wage mainline operation a uncommon feat, since flight crew for its roughly 35 De Havilland Sprint 8-400 turboprop planes are wanted on the regional service.
“Proper now, there’s no one coming in, notably into the captain ranks,” Kenny stated. “We’re not changing them, and the captains are typically those which have the seniority to maneuver over to WestJet. It is type of a revolving door of making an attempt to repair that.”
Encore is recruiting newer pilots, she certified. “However the issue is that they don’t seem to be staying. They’re getting their expertise after which they are going elsewhere — to Porter or Jazz or Air Canada or Aptitude. Some are going abroad.”
WestJet Airways president Diederik Pen stated a strike authorization vote marks a typical step by unions within the context of labour negotiations.
“We’re steadfast in our dedication to achieve an settlement with ALPA that addresses the distinctive issues of our Encore pilots, is aggressive inside Canada’s airline business and ensures we’ve a long-term sustainable future in order that we will proceed to function crucial air service for tens of millions of Canadians, whereas offering significant employment for hundreds on the WestJet Group,” Pen stated in a press release.
The airline narrowly averted a strike final 12 months after talks with a special set of pilots got here right down to the wire, prompting the provider to cancel greater than 230 flights in preparation for job motion earlier than a deal was reached hours forward of the walkout deadline.
The collective settlement with pilots at WestJet and its Swoop subsidiary — however not WestJet Encore — granted a 24 per cent pay bump over 4 years.
WestJet introduced in June final 12 months it could wind down the five-year-old Swoop and fold the funds airline’s operations beneath its important banner.
The potential labour disruption comes as Canada’s second-largest provider faces indefinite delays on dozens of recent plane deliveries after a panel blowout on a Boeing 737 Max aircraft in January pushed again certification for the Max 10 because the U.S. plane maker contends with higher scrutiny from regulators.
