One WestJet passenger’s trip plans are up in the air ahead of the airline’s potential strike, and he’s not sure when, or if he will be able to take off.
CUPE, the union representing WestJet’s flight attendants, has issued a 72-hour strike notice which could result in the airline grounding hundreds of daily flights.
“I thought of rebooking a bit later but that could be worse if the strike goes on,” John Murphy told CTV News Channel on Thursday. He added that for now he is going to wait and see if his trip will be able to get off the ground.
“I have looked, I can fly out of Seattle for a pretty reasonable price so I think I’ll do that if it’s cancelled. But it depends on the rebooking rules and how well that goes, so I’m not really sure yet,” Murphy said.
He had booked his flight through a third-party service, trip.com, and reports being unable to reschedule the flight.
CTVNews.ca reached out to WestJet, and was told those who booked through third-party sites need to contact the sites directly to inquire about possible refunds.
Murphy says WestJet wouldn’t help him, saying “they’ll only deal with people who book directly through them.”
“If you’re a third party, they don’t really deal with you.”
Sky-high strike
The 4,400 flight attendants who are set to strike say they are fighting against unpaid work.
The airline, Canada’s second largest, says the attendants are compensated for that work, like ground duties, through a “credit hour” system.
WestJet flight attendants make between $28.45 and $53.61 per credit hour, according to the company’s website. A credit hour is equal to about 1.5 duty hours, and the company says it means better pay for its workers.
Based on this pay structure, cabin crew working around 1,440 duty hours per year would receive 960 credit hours per year, the company explained. However, the union is challenging this, calling unpaid work a major negotiation point.
“We want a fair contract for our members that recognizes the value of flight attendants’ work,” Alia Hussain, CUPE’s WestJet contingent chair, said in a Thursday news release. “We will continue to bargain around the clock until this is resolved.”
The airline’s CEO says WestJet “sincerely” regrets “the inconvenience and uncertainty” the negotiations are causing their customers.
Murphy says he stands with the union, “because they should get paid for all the hours they work.”
“It’s ridiculous, I think, so I’m hoping they settle and (CUPE) get what they’re looking for.”
With files from the Canadian Press
