More than 4,000 flight attendants at Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet, are returning to work after their union reached a tentative agreement with the Calgary-based carrier to end a historic strike in a dispute over ‘working for free.’
Mainline flight attendants at WestJet walked out at midnight on August 2 after last-ditch talks to avert a stoppage ended without success. Behind the scenes, however, negotiators from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) were still locked in talks with WestJet management.
At the heart of the dispute was changing the core model of how flight attendants at WestJet are paid. Until now, the airline has only paid crew for the hours they actually spend in-flight, from the moment the aircraft pushes back from the gate to when it arrives at its destination.
Boarding and ground delays went unpaid; a status quo that the CUPE was adamant had to change. Although WestJet did, eventually, offer a ground pay element in its offer, the CUPE believed it didn’t fully address the needs of its members, and the walkout began.
The Canadian government had refused to intervene in the dispute, deciding not to impose restrictions on the strike or force flight attendants into binding arbitration.
With lawmakers urging WestJet to find a solution at the bargaining table, a tentative agreement was reached on Monday. Details of the deal remain under wraps for now, but we know WestJet had previously offered a 13% wage increase in October 2026, followed by 2.5% wage increases in 2027, 2028, and 2029.
The airline had also offered significant increases to per diem payments for time spent away from home on layovers. WestJet’s initial offer also included more vacation time, an improved maternity policy, a new flexible working program, and various scheduling and quality of life improvements.
The CUPE is likely to have accepted a ‘boarding pay’ deal in which flight attendants are paid a percentage of the usual hourly flying rate. If it’s anything like a similar deal struck at Air Canada last year, the percentage will increase throughout the duration of the contract.
WestJet had been forced to cancel hundreds of flights as a result of the walkout, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Flight attendants will, however, now return to work. Over the next few weeks, detals of the tentative agreement will be shared with crew members before a ratification vote takes place.
“This tentative agreement represents meaningful progress,” commented CUPE 8125 President Alia Hussain after the deal was announced on Monday.
“It evolves the flight credit system by recognizing more of the work cabin crew are required to perform and with general increases to compensation for that work. Most importantly, this agreement was achieved through collective bargaining at the negotiating table.”
Hussain added: “We will now present the agreement to our members for their review and ratification vote. To our members, thank you for your solidarity throughout this process. We also want to thank the public, labour organizations, and everyone who supported cabin crew as we worked toward a fair resolution.”
