WestJet’s flight attendants have approved a new collective agreement with the airline, with an overwhelming 90.2 percent vote in favor of the deal. Alia Hussain, president of CUPE 8125, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that the members had shown strong support for the gains achieved during negotiations.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees disclosed that the agreement entails an 18 percent wage increase spread over three years, along with additional compensation for ground duties. The contract will see a 13 percent wage hike in October, followed by increments of 2.75 percent in January and 2.5 percent at the beginning of 2028.
Negotiations had been ongoing since January, with disagreements between WestJet and the CUPE WestJet Component centering on wage adjustments and the dispute over unpaid ground tasks. The union had raised concerns about uncompensated work during non-flight hours, while WestJet had defended its compensation system based on “credit hours” rather than hourly rates.
The newly inked three-year deal takes effect from January 1, 2026, until December 31, 2028, following intense discussions including contentious issues like boarding pay that led to a brief strike by approximately 4,400 cabin crew members earlier in the month. WestJet’s flight operations gradually resumed after experiencing over 900 cancellations during the peak of the summer travel season.
Labor disputes have been a recurring challenge in the aviation sector, with past strikes by Air Canada flight attendants and WestJet mechanics causing disruptions at the country’s major airlines. WestJet, which conducts more than 600 flights daily and serves over 70,000 passengers on certain days, faced significant labor-related turbulence before reaching this agreement.
