The Calgary-based carrier has already begun to cancel flights, calling off roughly 25 trips on Thursday and Friday in anticipation of possible job action by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association , which has threatened to hit the picket lines as early as 5:30 p.m. MDT on Friday.
The mechanics union, which represents about 680 workers — the majority are aircraft maintenance engineers who inspect each active plane daily — has claimed WestJet is resorting to "brinksmanship" and "false accusations." It said Wednesday the airline had asked the government to quash its strike notice without notifying its negotiators.
He called the decision to trigger flight cancellations a "painful" one, noting the fallout for customers. The Canada Industrial Relations Board has said it needs more time and submissions from each party before deciding whether to create a collective agreement via binding arbitration, as proposed by WestJet last week.
"There's been some comfortable moments and some pretty intense moments," said Ian Evershed, a union representative involved in the talks, in a phone interview. “We just aren’t seeing any progress. “We’re looking for higher than that for sure,” he said, pointing to counterparts in the United States who he said earn more than 1.5 times the current pay level.