WestJet Encore pilots reach tentative agreement
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/05/2024 (869 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WestJet Encore and the union representing its pilots reached a new tentative agreement on Thursday, averting possible job action as early as this weekend.
The move came one day after the pilots issued a 72-hour strike notice after they rejected an earlier tentative agreement.
Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) master executive council chair Carin Kenny said the agreement successfully averts a work stoppage and both parties await the second ratification vote to be put forward to membership.
“After our pilots rejected the tentative agreement presented to them last month, citing the WestJet Group’s failure to address issues of central importance to the pilot group, we are very pleased to announce we have reached a new tentative agreement with management which addresses those issues,” Kenny said.
“Over the coming days, our WestJet Encore membership will begin voting on the new tentative agreement.”
The goal, she said, has always been to reach an agreement that will help solve many of the airline’s pilot attraction and retention issues, provide industry-standard wages and working conditions, and provide a better work-life balance for pilots.
Following the airline’s issuance of a lockout notice, both ALPA and WestJet returned to the bargaining table. Meaningful discussions and a timely resolution were achieved, Kenny said, with the mutual goal of avoiding the disruption of WestJet Encore operations and guests’ travel plans.
The Air Line Pilots Association represents 355 Encore pilots, who in early April approved a strike mandate.
WestJet president Diederik Pen said the tentative agreement provides an offer that is fair and sustainable, and better aligns with key priorities as identified by ALPA, while firmly adhering to the financial parameters that set a critical foundation in the original agreement.
“While we are pleased to have reached an agreement, we recognize the impact and the uncertainty a lockout notice has on our guests and our people,” Pen said.
“While our No. 1 priority remains fulfilling our commitment to our guests through affordable air service, we cannot compromise on what is reasonable and protects the future employment for everyone across the WestJet Group,” he said.
”I am confident our agreement achieves this.”
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