WestJet Encore Reaches Agreement In Principle With Pilots Union

Summary

• WestJet Encore pilots and the airline signed an agreement-in-principle, averting a strike by the regional carrier’s pilots.
• Negotiations will continue to finalize the tentative agreement (TA).
• In June 2023, WestJet and Swoop pilots also approved a new four-year employment contract.

WestJet Encore pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), signed a principle agreement with WestJet, averting a potential strike that the pilots approved several days ago, with 97% of the regional carrier’s flight crews voting yes on the industrial action.

Principle agreement

However, on April 8, 2024, ALPA and WestJet, the parent company of WestJet Encore, jointly announced that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle (AIP) after more than seven months of negotiations. Still, discussions are ongoing to finalize a contract for a full tentative agreement (TA) that would be approved by the union’s representatives working at the Canadian airline.

Carin Kenny, the chair of the WestJet Encore ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC), remarked that after several consecutive days of late-stage negotiating, the two sides progressed on a number of key issues, which included compensation and scheduling. Kenny added that the AIP goes a long way toward bringing the working conditions of WestJet Encore in line with those of other Canadian regional airlines.

Averting a strike

Without mincing words, Kenny continued that throughout the negotiation process, the carrier’s management had refused to grasp the current labor conditions in the industry, resulting in a number of pilots leaving for better working opportunities elsewhere.

“It is significant that management now recognizes a contract without the required economic and scheduling improvements would result in a continuation of the current pilot attraction and retention crisis at the airline.”

To note, 89% of WestJet Encore pilots voted on a strike, with 97% of them approving the labor action that would have happened on April 17 if the union and the airline had not agreed on a new agreement by the same day. At the time, ALPA said that WestJet Encore pilots were some of the lowest-paid regional flight crews in the country.

Nevertheless, when the two sides announced the AIP, Diederik Pen, the President of WestJet and Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of the WestJet Group, remarked that the agreement recognizes the immense value and contributions of WestJet Encore pilots in providing regional connectivity for Canadians.

“We are pleased to have reached this milestone, enabling us to move forward with an unwavering focus on providing safe, friendly and reliable air service to our guests for years to come.”

97% Of WestJet Encore Pilots Approve To Strike

Following the WestJet pilots’ agreement

This is the second time in a year that WestJet has faced a potential strike. In May 2023, WestJet pilots, represented by ALPA, reached an AIP with WestJet, a month after the union had approved to begin striking, setting a deadline to reach an agreement for May 16, 2023.

However, the two sides managed to strike a deal on May 19, 2023, the same day when the strike was scheduled to happen. Nevertheless, after the union’s members approved the AIP, the pilots voted positively on a new four-year contract, including new working conditions for pilots of the now-discontinued low-cost carrier, Swoop.