WestJet pilots are preparing to start a labor dispute with their employer starting Monday after an upsurge in negotiations in recent months.
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The union which represents them has indicated that it has fewer and fewer pilots staying with the company, while many of them are seizing opportunities to work elsewhere.
Bernard Lewall, president of the Airline Pilots Association, told Global News he was keen to stay with WestJet: “Those like me who fight will get to make the change that will make our airline once again more of a professional destination for pilots.”
Mr. Lewall explains that there are three demands that he and his acolytes put forward to their bosses: job security, higher wages (to bring them closer to the North American average), and work-family balance.
Rallies were held outside WestJet’s Calgary headquarters on Friday.
The result of the strike, which involves 1,600 members, will be known on April 18.