WestJet flight attendants' union issues 72-hour notice for strike that most Canadians want Ottawa to stay out of

A WestJet flight attendant strike at the peak of travel and tourist season is one step closer after the union representing the 4,400 workers issued its 72-hour strike notice early Thursday morning.

Canadian Union of Public Employees 8125 said in a news release that the two sides are “still too far apart on some key issues.”

“We have been clear about what needs to change, and we have worked hard to reach a fair deal,” said Alia Hussain, the local’s president.

“There’s still time to avoid a strike. We will continue to bargain around the clock until this is resolved.”

The union’s key issue is the unpaid duties performed by flight attendants before aircraft take off — boarding, deplaning, delays and safety checks, among others — which the union has said amount to 35 hours per month.

But WestJet has explained that cabin crew salaries are based on a model called credit hours, which pays a higher rate for the duration of the flight to account for preparation before departure. As a result, staff are only paid for when they’re flying.

In response to the strike notice, the airline served its own 72-hour lockout notice, and said it too remains committed to resolving the labour impasse.

“We greatly value the work and contributions of our cabin crew, and it is our responsibility to ensure the integrity of our network and to minimize the risk of stranding our guests, crew and aircraft,” WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a statement.

The notices won’t affect ongoing airline operations or indicate that a strike will begin, but if no agreement is reached, the flight attendants will be in a legal position for labour action as of Sunday at 12:01 a.m.

Last week, WestJet began allowing passengers scheduled to travel between July 30 and Aug. 4 to make a one-time change or cancellation at no cost.

The policy also applies to flights booked through WestJet Vacations, Sunwing Vacations and Vacances WestJet Québec, although Sunwing notes that if the new booking costs more, the difference must be paid. For a lower price, the difference will be refunded in a travel voucher.

It’s expected that without a deal, WestJet will begin to cancel flights starting Friday in anticipation of a weekend shutdown.

The union also asked Ottawa to respect the collective bargaining process and let the parties reach an agreement without government intervention.

When Air Canada flight attendants hit the picket lines for three days last August, Minister of Jobs Patty Hajdu invoked section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to impose binding arbitration. The Canada Industrial Relations Board then declared the strike unlawful and issued a return-to-work order that flight attendants defied for three days until an agreement was reached.

On Wednesday, Hajdu told reporters in Montreal that the “talks are progressing.”

“Obviously, I have to leave it to the parties to characterize those talks, but they are very, very well supported by the Federal Mediation Service and we’re hopeful that they reach a negotiated agreement,” she said, per Global News.

Opposition MPs are also calling on the Liberal government not to step in as they did with Air Canada and criticize their use of the provision within the labour code.

Conservative party labour critic Kyle Seeback accused the Liberals of repeatedly “weaponizing” section 107.

“Every time they do it, they take away a worker’s right to strike and fight for better wages and better working conditions, which we support, given how expensive and difficult it is to make ends meet these days,” he told iPolitics.

NDP MPs Don Davies and Leah Gazan, in a letter sent to Hajdu, called the Air Canada intervention “clear contempt for workers’ fundamental rights” and said it “must not be repeated.”

“Having followed every step necessary to ensure their strike is legal and legitimate, CUPE cabin crew workers should not have to fear that government will intervene on behalf of WestJet to force them back to work,” they wrote.

Today, my colleague @LeahGazan and I wrote a letter calling on the Minister of Jobs, @PattyHajdu, to refrain from violating WestJet workers’ right to strike. pic.twitter.com/6ZdwKjyaLG

— Don Davies (@DonDavies) July 29, 2026

A majority of Canadians (53 per cent) agree that Hajdu and her department shouldn’t get involved, even in the event of travel disruptions, according to polling by Abacus Data.

The union-commissioned survey of 1,500 people July 17-19 found that 27 per cent said Ottawa should take action and 20 per cent had no view on the subject.

A majority (56 per cent) of people who voted for the Liberals last year and WestJet customers (57 per cent) also want the flight attendant’s right to strike respected, two groups Abacus noted could matter politically and commercially.

“That suggests any decision to legislate an end to a strike before negotiations have been exhausted would carry meaningful political risk while offering relatively little public support as we learned when Air Canada’s flight attendants went on strike last summer,” they wrote.

The survey also found that close to two-thirds of Canadians (64 per cent) side with the flight attendants, while only 11 per cent stand with the airline and 25 per cent don’t back either side.

Respondents also “overwhelmingly agree” (84 per cent) that flight attendants deserve to be compensated for non-flight time work. Just nine per cent disagreed and seven per cent didn’t know. Other bargaining requests around wages and scheduling were also seen as “reasonable” but a plurality.

Abacus’ margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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