Workers’ Strike Forces Canada’s Second-largest Airline to Cancel 235 Flights
Members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association on strike, June 29, 2024. Photo: X/ @thetribunechd
June 30, 2024 Hour: 8:04 am
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) began strike action at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
On Saturday, Canada’s second-largest airline, the WestJet Group, announced an additional 235 flight cancellations due to a strike by its aircraft maintenance engineers.
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The new round of flight cancellations is expected to impact about 30,000 more guests, following an initial cancellation of 150 flights earlier Saturday that impacted about 20,000 passengers.
A strike by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) led to the flight cancellations. AMFA, representing about 670 WestJet maintenance engineers, began strike action at 4:30 p.m. local time on Friday.
“The strike decision comes a day after Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to impose binding arbitration to solve outstanding collective agreement issues between the Calgary-based airline and the AMFA,” CBC reported.
“The union will comply with the arbitration process and directed its members to avoid any unlawful job action. Its legal counsel said the strike is within the union’s rights even with the minister’s order,” the Canadian outlet added.
The company is “seeking every avenue for intervention and working around the clock to maintain a stable network, while we reduce our flying in a safe and controlled manner,” WestJet President Diederik Pen said.
With more than 250,000 passengers scheduled to fly during the long weekend, WestJet is seeking immediate intervention from the minister of labour and the Canada Industrial Relations Board, while parking its aircraft in stations across Canada.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: Xinhua - CBC