(Calgary) WestJet Encore pilots have given the green light to an agreement with their employer, avoiding a strike at the regional airline.
The Air Line Pilots Association says its members have ratified a five-year contract that offers higher wages, more flexible schedules and a better work-life balance.
The union says about 79 percent of pilots who voted approved the collective bargaining agreement, with the vast majority of the carrier’s more than 350 pilots participating in the vote.
Carin Kenny, who leads the union’s WestJet Encore contingent, says the deal establishes “a level of career progression” toward flying larger planes on the carrier’s mainline — crucial for attracting new pilots and retaining existing ones on board.
The contract is effective immediately, with pay retroactive to January 1st.
This week’s vote cemented a tentative agreement reached on May 30, avoiding the turmoil caused by similar last-minute deals struck last year between WestJet and mainline pilots as well as fliers at its Swoop subsidiary, now closed.
