Release #: WEN 24.05
April 08, 2024
WestJet Encore Pilot Leaders Approve Agreement in Principle
Negotiations Continue to Reach a Full Tentative Agreement
CALGARY, AB—WestJet Encore pilot leaders from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) have voted to approve an agreement in principle (AIP) with WestJet Encore management, following more than seven months of negotiations. Discussions are ongoing as the parties work to finalize contract language for a full tentative agreement (TA) for membership ratification.
“After several consecutive days of late-stage negotiating, progress was made on a number of key issues including compensation and scheduling,” said Capt. Carin Kenny, chair of the WestJet Encore ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC). “We are pleased to announce an agreement in principle that goes a long way toward bringing the WestJet Encore pilots in line with our regional flying counterparts across Canada.”
While representatives for both sides have reached an AIP on most of the terms and conditions, contract language is still being finalized.
“Throughout the negotiating process, management’s refusal to grasp the current labour market conditions in Canada’s aviation sector resulted in a mass exodus of pilots in search of better work opportunities," continued Kenny. “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. “
Flight disruptions are never an ideal outcome for any pilot or their passengers; that’s why the primary goal of the pilots has always been to reach an agreement and not go on strike. The pilot group will continue to make its negotiators available until a TA is reached.
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 77,000 pilots at 41 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit ALPA.org or follow us on Twitter @ALPAPilots.
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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org