[Source: Reuters]
The union representing flight attendants at Canada’s WestJet reached a tentative deal with the country’s second-largest carrier on Monday, ending a strike that had resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and marking another win for cabin crew seeking better wage structures.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 4,400 flight attendants at the carrier, sought pay for its members from the time they check in until they clock out, instead of mostly just for time when their aircraft is in motion.
WestJet did not disclose details of the tentative agreement, which will now be presented to cabin crew members for a ratification vote. The union said it would share details of the agreement with its members ahead of the vote.
“It (agreement) evolves the flight credit system by recognizing more of the work cabin crew are required to perform and with general increases to compensation for that work,” the union’s president, Alia Hussain, said.
Attendants at the airline, which has a domestic market share of 30%, had gone on strike on Sunday after talks fell through.
The labour unrest had also followed a four-day strike by flight attendants last August at larger rival Air Canada (AC.TO), opens new tab that stranded half a million passengers.
It is also the latest effort by attendants across the U.S. and Canada to challenge a compensation structure that mostly pays cabin crew when an aircraft is in motion.
