WestJet strike: Flight attendants walk out after talks fail

Contract talks had been ongoing in the carrier’s home city of Calgary in an effort to bridge the gaps between WestJet and CUPE WestJet Component. Since the last contract expired on Dec. 31, 2025, wages and compensation for work being done on the ground have been among the biggest stumbling blocks.

“We’re disappointed to be here; this directly impacts the travel plans of our guests, our WestJetters and the communities and businesses we serve,” said CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech.

“Our focus remains on staying available for the union to reach an agreement. We presented a proposal that would have set a new standard for cabin crew in Canada, making WestJet the only airline to offer an hourly rate covering all time before and after flights, plus a double-digit wage increase in year one among other priorities the union raised. Unfortunately, it wasn’t accepted.”

In a media release from the union, Alia Hussain said WestJet’s latest offer didn’t go far enough.

“We are on strike because we believe we deserve better,” said the president of the union’s 8125 local.

“We are ready to go back to the table to settle. We hope the federal government will not interfere and will let the bargaining process run its course. Unpaid work is a big piece of our priorities, but we are bargaining a comprehensive contract.

“We would not be here if (the airline) had taken our concerns seriously for almost 11 months of bargaining.”

Hours after the strike took effect, WestJet released the details of its latest proposal.

The deal offers what the company describes as significant across-the-board wage increases, starting with a 13 per cent boost in October 2026 and retroactive pay to Jan. 1.

That’s alongside a new duty pay premium worth an additional 12 per cent salary equivalent.

Also in the deal, an immediate 13 per cent per diem hike, annual $300 health care spending accounts, expanded vacation, and a 17-week postpartum maternity leave top-up.

Scheduling and quality-of-life enhancements, including reduced maximum duty days, extra rest hours at home and away, and extra pay for reassignments or layover hotel delays, were also part of the package.

WestJet had begun grounding planes and cancelling flights in the lead-up to a potential strike to avoid stranding passengers and crew.

They issued a 72-hour lockout notice Thursday, the same day the union gave notice it would strike

Along with wage rates generally, compensation for work done on the ground has marked a key stumbling block in the talks, less than a year after the same issue sparked a work stoppage by 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada.

In Calgary, bargaining teams continued with near-round-the-clock negotiations at a hotel conference room to hammer out a new contract.

A question mark dangling over the talks is how Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government might intervene.

Soon after Air Canada flight attendants went on strike over what they deemed unpaid work last August, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu directed the country’s labour board to order them back on the job.

The union defied the order, forcing Air Canada back to the bargaining table where the parties hashed out a tentative deal. The union’s move marked an extralegal precedent that served as a warning to airline executives across the country in future negotiations.

Reaction to the news of a strike came swiftly from Hajdu, who said in a statement on social media that she was disappointed that no deal could be reached to avoid a disruption.

She reiterated previous comments that the strongest deals happen at the table, but did not say whether the government planned to intervene.

Even a brief shutdown will cost WestJet millions of dollars during the height of summer travel — on a long weekend across much of Canada. The airline operates more than 600 flights per day carrying thousands of passengers — sometimes more than 70,000, according to the company.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees had ratcheted up a public relations campaign in recent weeks, launching a “day of action” with rallies across the country on July 14.

Ads arguing the cabin crews’ case popped up on platforms ranging from podcasts to TikTok content creator videos.

WestJet’s current “credit hour” compensation system combines flight time, ground duties, delays and other labour into a “single, higher rate of pay” that is then credited across the work day, the company says on its website.

The pay rate ranges between $28.88 and $53.61 per credit hour. At 80 credit hours a month — considered full-time work — that adds up to between $27,700 and $51,500 per year.

While many airlines maintain this type of compensation structure, Delta Air Lines spearheaded reforms in 2022 when it became the first carrier in North America to pay flight attendants specifically for work done on the ground.

American Airlines and Alaska Airlines followed suit with boarding pay of 50 per cent of regular rates.

In February, Air Canada flight attendants secured compensation for ground work that will climb to 70 per cent of their hourly rate for the hour before takeoff — also known as boarding pay.

Ottawa launched an investigation into unpaid work in the airline sector in August 2025, when negotiations between Air Canada and the union representing its cabin crew boiled over into a strike that saw planes grounded as workers took to the picket lines.

Central to that work stoppage were allegations from CUPE that flight attendants are regularly subjected to unpaid work when aircraft are grounded.

In response, the jobs minister asked her department to look into whether workers in the sector were being paid below a standard set by the federal minimum wage.

Findings from the first phase of that probe, published in February, found little evidence that unpaid work was widespread in the industry, although investigators flagged some issues with part-time and entry-level flight attendants for a closer look.

In May, Canada’s main flight attendants union cried foul on airline submissions to the government, as questions persist around what constitutes aviation “work.”

In a letter, the head of CUPE’s airline division said the information on wages that airlines provided to authorities this month relies on a narrow and “misleading” definition of work to prove that cabin crew are paid fairly.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

by The Canadian Press

WestJet strike: Flight attendants walk out after talks fail

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