August long-weekend plans could be up in the air as 99.4% of union members voted in favour of a strike, meaning more than 4,00 workers represented by CUPE 8125 could legally walk off the job on August 2nd.
The flight attendants are seeking a change in how their hours and compensation are being recorded. In an Instagram video, WestJet attendants say they can work an average of 35 unpaid hours a month, as duties like assisting passengers with boarding or deplaning, and delays on the ground are currently unpaid for them.
The union has even posted it’s own calculations online, showing that multiple schedules from May and June see flight attendants being paid less than the $18.15 federal minimum wage.
Conversely, WestJet posted it’s own audit, which monitored more than 40 flights for 9 months, and found only four potential examples of the aforementioned pay, for which WestJet blames “self-modification” for the pay discrepancies.
WestJet president says he is open to changes in the existing contract, which was signed during the Covid-19 pandemic. WestJet has also posted online that the two sides have agreed to 32 collective agreement items, with another 35 still in progress.
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