A major Canadian airline worked out a deal to end a chaotic mechanics’ strike that disrupted one of its busiest travel days. WestJet, the country’s second-largest airline, announced Sunday that a new contract with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association was agreed upon.
The deal comes after a last-minute bid to prevent the Canada Day weekend work stoppage failed amid government uncertainty. The union says its deal grants workers an immediate 15.5% raise, plus further single-digit raises during the course of the five-year agreement.
“We are grateful and relieved to announce that the AMFA-represented Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and WestJet have successfully negotiated a contract covering the next five years,” the union said in a statement. “This will end our lawful strike action against the company, effective immediately.”
Negotiations between WestJet and the AMFA, which have been going since 2023, had been contentious. In May, the airline said that it would be willing to lock the mechanics out of their jobs if a deal couldn’t be reached. In turn, the mechanics gave multiple strike notices to the carrier. When talks broke down earlier this month, WestJet sought and received an imposition of forced arbitration from Canada’s Minister of Labour. But the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which would have carried out the order, instead told the AMFA that they were free to strike. They did so Friday, forcing WestJet to park 130 planes across 13 airports.
“Lack of clarity from the government and the decisions taken by the CIRB allowed for a strike to occur amidst binding arbitration,” WestJet said in a statement. “With no path forward to resolution, both parties made essential movements to find common ground and achieve an agreement.”
The contract now goes out to union members for ratification.