WestJet workers at Calgary and Vancouver airports have voted in favor of a strike if they cannot reach an agreement with the airline.
Unifor says the premises, which represents more than 700 baggage and customer service agents, among other employees, voted 98% in favor of the strike and could leave work on July 27.
Wages are the key topic in talks about the group’s first collective agreement with the company, Unifor spokesman Scott Doherty said on Wednesday.
“The wage scale has not increased for more than five years, making WestJet’s salaries the lowest in the Canadian aviation industry and not adjusting to rising inflation,” he said in a statement.
The union also highlighted a “pressure cooker environment,” claiming that workers have suffered verbal abuse and physical threats from passengers whose flights were delayed or canceled by the carrier.
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“We’re exhausted,” said Sherwin Antonio, a member of Unifor Local 531’s negotiating committee in Calgary, where talks are expected to continue throughout the week.
Read more: More than 500 WestJet employees join Calgary and Vancouver
WestJet executive vice president Angela Avery said the strike vote was a “common step” in the negotiation process and “was not unexpected.”
“We remain focused on successfully negotiating an agreement that adds value to our airport employees,” he said in a statement.
“As the airline is rebuilt, most of its airport employees have been in the company for less than a year and the vast majority of the most incumbent airport employees have received increases through the structure existing wage, as well as a leading variable in Canadian industry.
Before taking any strike action, Unifor must service WestJet 72 hours in advance.
The strike vote comes as airlines and airports have struggled to cope with the massive resurgence of travel this summer following the lifting of restrictions on COVID-19, which led to two years of accumulated demand amid staff shortages and global bottleneck flight networks.
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