On 03MAY, WestJet announced it has ratified the first collective bargaining agreement with the local Unifor union representing workers at YYZ.
"WestJet is pleased to share that the agreement negotiated with Unifor has been ratified by its membership," said Diederik Pen, WestJet Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer. "This settlement demonstrates WestJet's commitment to its employees, the long-term success of the airline and the communities we serve."
According to WestJet, the agreement will come into effect 01JUN 2023 and will be in place until 31DEC 2026.
The news comes shortly after the two parties announced they had reached their first tentative deal on 28APR.
Unifor Local 531 represents 350 WestJet workers at YYZ, who are primarily customer service agents and baggage agents. As previously reported by Open Jaw, bargaining first began 24OCT 2022, after the Canada Industrial Relations Board certified Unifor's application for the WestJet workers in Toronto to join the union in JUL 2022. Key issues during the bargaining process included wages, job security and seniority rights.
Members in the new pay progression will receive between 8.4 per cent and 20 per cent wage increases within the first year of the new agreement and additional wage increases of 2 per cent on 01JAN each year until 2026.
Unifor represents 16,000 members across Canada in the aviation sector, including approximately 1,300 at WestJet in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.
