WestJet has cancelled nearly 700 flights as of Sunday, upending plans for close to 100,000 passengers as an unexpected strike by plane mechanics entered its third day on the busiest travel weekend of the season.
Travellers wait for flights at Calgary International Airport as WestJet mechanics strike in Calgary, Saturday, June 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
He was one of many passengers hit with cancellations a half-day before departure. Others said they could not get through to customer service. As the clock ticked down toward a Friday strike deadline, the impasse prompted Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan to step in, mandating that WestJet and the union undertake binding arbitration headed by the country's labour tribunal.
A decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board seemed to affirm the legality of their actions regardless of protocols around arbitration, a process that typically averts work stoppages rather than starting them. However, O'Regan has broad authority under the Canada Labour Code. Though his initial directive to the tribunal for binding arbitration may have presumed a strike was off the table due to precedent, the labour minister could take a range of steps to "secure industrial peace and to promote conditions favourable to the settlement of industrial disputes," the legislation states.
A dead person was found in Mill Creek Ravine on Saturday and Edmonton police are investigating the death as suspicious.Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.With the recent moisture and cooler temperatures, fire bans and restrictions in the Lethbridge area are no longer in effect.Plenty of tourists will descend on Lethbridge to see what the city offers.
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