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With WestJet flight attendants currently set to begin striking as early as Aug. 2, the union says there’s a core issue members want resolved: unpaid work.
Close to 4,400 union members represented by CUPE Local 8125 voted 99.4 per cent in favour of a strike on July 15, effectively grounding Canada’s second-largest airline in the middle of the August long weekend, a major travel period between Aug. 1 and the statutory holiday on Aug. 3.
WestJet has since given passengers with flights booked between July 30 and Aug. 4 the ability to make a one-time change or cancellation to their bookings with no fee.
John Gradek, faculty lecturer in supply networks and aviation management at McGill University, said that WestJet’s amendment is meant to reassure passengers that business will continue as usual.
“I think this is WestJet’s effort to say, ‘OK, we’re reaching out. We still think there’s a chance of a deal, but in the meantime, if you want to change your flight, this is what we’re going to offer you,” he said.
One of the core issues in negotiations is the same one that led to a three-day strike last summer by Air Canada flight attendants.
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A spokesperson for CUPE Local 8125 told Global News that WestJet crew involved are “seeking an end to the unfair practice of unpaid work.”
“Essential duties before boarding, during delays, emergency evacuations, and after arrival are not fully compensated. Flight attendants are responsible for safety from the moment they report to work, and not just when the aircraft moves. Some flight attendants are making below minimum wage when you factor in their unpaid hours — in some cases up to 35 unpaid hours every month.”
Gradek also added that much of the work flight attendants do “is not recognized by many carriers as being payable hours.”
The flight attendants union has said that because of the “archaic flight credit system” that members are paid under, flight attendants “end up working roughly 35 hours free per month.”
WestJet says the credit hour system is “the standard pay model for cabin crew across North America” and that “block hours start when the aircraft leaves the gate and end when it arrives at the gate.” One credit hour equals one flight time hour.
“Rather than paying a lower hourly wage for every hour on duty, the credit hour system combines flight time, ground duties, delays, and other required work into a single, higher rate of pay. That rate is then ‘credited’ across the full duty day,” WestJet
The credit hour system also “provides wages on a basis other than duty time worked. Credit hours are calculated and paid as outlined in the collective agreement.”
“We’ve heard clearly that many of our crew feel this system requires improvements,” WestJet states.
“We also know their current compensation requires adjustments in the context of inflation, and we take that seriously. We’re prepared to make meaningful improvements in both regards.”
Robert Kokonis, president and managing director of AirTrav, said, “the actual compensation wasn’t super great” in the previous contract for flight attendants.
“Nobody wants a strike and these threats of job action during these peak travel periods, it’s awful,” he said.
In August 2025, approximately 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job for three days amid a similar labour dispute, resulting in flight cancellations affecting over 500,000 travellers at the time.
Kokonis suggests that “maybe Air Canada negotiations and their flight attendants set the bar” in what was reached in the deal, contributing to WestJet’s similar hope for change.
WestJet and Air Canada flight attendants are represented by the same union.
This sentiment was also echoed by Gradek.
“The Air Canada contract was pretty rich in terms of what they gave the flight attendants in their first year of their contract. So, WestJet’s saying there’s a salary increase that they’re looking for, plus the one recognition for the hours that they’re not getting paid for today, those are the two big issues.”
Despite that, Gradek says there are good signs about ongoing negotiations so far.
“There seems to be some level of compromise that’s been talked about by the CEO of WestJet, and there’s nothing being leaked out of the negotiation session. So, to me, that’s a good sign that they’re talking and they’re creeping towards some type of agreement,” he said.
“I think WestJet saw the damage that the Air Canada flight attendants did to Air Canada’s brand and Air Canada reputation in the marketplace with their flight attendant strike last summer, and I think WestJet’s saying, ‘we don’t want to go there.’”
Striking is not either side’s desire, short or long-term, according to Kokonis.
“They understand that the strike is in nobody’s best interest,” he said. “For air passengers, travellers, customers of WestJet, it is none of their best interests.”
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