Strike averted: WestJet workers in Vancouver, Calgary reach tentative agreement
There will be no strike at WestJet after the airline came to a tentative first collective agreement Sunday night, just days before the deadline.
Nearly 800 baggage and customer service staff in Calgary and Vancouver were about to walk off the job. Unifor, Canada’s largest union in the private sector, announced last week that 98% of workers were in favour of a strike if a deal could not be reached.
According to a news release, details of the new agreement will first be presented to union members at a meeting later this week.
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WestJet and Unifor have been trying to negotiate a deal regarding wages and scope of work since October 2021.
“This bargaining committee has worked very hard over the last nine months to negotiate this first agreement that brings long overdue wage increases and improvements to working conditions,” says Scott Doherty, lead negotiator and assistant to the national president at Unifor.
The agreement comes as travellers continue to face long lines, flight delays, cancellations, and lost baggage at airports across Canada.