WestJet canceled nearly 700 flights, upending the plans of about 100,000 passengers, as an unexpected mechanics strike entered its third day on Sunday, the busiest weekend of the season.
The approximately 680 workers, whose daily inspections and repairs are essential to the airline’s operations, walked off the job Friday evening despite a binding arbitration directive from the federal labor minister.
As of Thursday, tracking service FlightAware shows WestJet canceled 687 flights scheduled between then and the end of the Canada Day long weekend.
As of Sunday morning, 77% of the day’s flights were canceled. WestJet topped the global list of cancellations among major airlines on Saturday and Sunday.
In Montreal, flights departing for Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton were canceled on Sunday.
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WestJet and the Airplane Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) have accused the other side of refusing to negotiate in good faith.
WestJet Airlines president Diederik Pen criticized what he called the union’s “continued reckless actions” and said it is making “blatant efforts” to disrupt Canadians’ travel plans, while the union says the Calgary-based company has refused to respond to its latest counter-proposal.
PHOTO CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV, THE CANADIAN PRESS
An employee speaks with passengers in the WestJet check-in area at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on June 29.
On Sunday, the union side said its members were “victims of WestJet’s virulent public relations campaign that [ils sont] offenders,” citing “slander” against workers regarding their right to strike.
On Friday, AMFA said the company’s “reluctance to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable.”
Union members rejected a deal with WestJet earlier this month and after two weeks of tense negotiations between the two sides that resulted in the federal government stepping in, binding arbitration was ordered Thursday to force WestJet and the union to resolve the dispute.
AMFA management has released a letter from the Canada Industrial Relations Board regarding its decision, stating that the ministerial referral does not have the effect of suspending the right to strike or lockout.
WestJet officials say they are “extremely outraged by these actions” and will hold AMFA “fully accountable for the unnecessary stress and costs that have resulted.”
Federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan, who said the Canada Industrial Relations Board’s order was not consistent with the direction he had given, spoke again on Saturday, asking both parties to work together with the Council to reach an agreement.
“There is a lot at stake. Canadians need this situation to be resolved,” he wrote on the social network X in the evening.