We are now about a month into the crisis in the airline industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the huge impact it has had on all of our lives. It often feels like things have been changing day by day or even hour by hour.

Just look at the last 24 hours or so at WestJet.

Robert Antoniuk, WestJet Vice-President Airports told staff to watch their WestJet emails today to find out if they are being put on an involuntary leave of absence, effective Monday. When there was no mention of federal wage subsidies that might mitigate the cuts, Unifor called on Onex and WestJet management to consider the federal wage subsidy plan. We are happy they heard the voice of workers and have made the right choice.

Then early this morning, while most of his staff were asleep, CEO Ed Sims posted a video tweet announcing that the company would take advantage of the federal subsidies after all and bring almost 6,400 employees back on the payroll.

A day earlier, Air Canada announced that it would be rehiring more than 16,500 workers, including more than 3,000 Unifor members, thanks to the federal subsidy.

Both these moves came after unions at the two airlines pushed the federal government to ensure that the airline industry and its workers benefitted from the new programs being announced to keep businesses going and workers being paid.

Unifor in particular has been working hard to ensure that economic supports announced by the federal government apply to the airline industry and that the long-term strength of Canada’s airlines be a top priority.

As welcome as this morning’s news from WestJet is, we cannot forget that WestJet has and will continue to use the pandemic as an excuse to make cuts.

No employer should ever use the COVID-19 pandemic as cover to make drastic cuts that it does not need to make and likely planned to do anyway. No one is denying that the airline industry is facing unprecedented challenges thanks to the pandemic, but that is no excuse for blaming COVID-19 for cuts the employer already wanted to make and without looking for alternatives.

Your employer has been quick to use the current crisis as a way to reduce your total compensation package. In a recent correspondence sent to employees from Mark Porter, EVP People and Culture with regards to cost saving measures, Mark says “we have considered many different options including but not limited to:

• Suspension of the WestJet Savings Plan
• Wage Reductions (roll backs) or reduced hours
• Reduction in additional elements of total rewards
• Pausing annual increases such as merit and progression increases
• Not paying out May’s profit-sharing cheques
• Exiting contractors

The CSAs and non-unionized groups have already seen reductions in pay/total compensation of 20 per cent with the company freezing the WestJet Savings Plan (WSP). The WSP has been touted as a part of the "total compensation" since the start of the company to offset the wage that is less than industry standard.

At Air Canada, Unifor’s collective agreement will add predictability and ensure fairness to the process as workers at Air Canada return to work, just as it did when the pandemic forced the airline to temporarily lay off staff.

There is no such predictability or promises of fairness at WestJet, however, and it is unclear who WestJet will choose to include in today’s announcement.

EI Factsheets update

Unifor also continues to work hard on behalf of all workers who are relying on EI and the new CERB to get them and their families through these difficult times. Within days of the pandemic beginning as employers across Canada were announcing layoffs, Unifor was releasing a series of factsheets to help workers access EI and other benefits, and have continued to update these as the programs evolve.

The latest updates, for instance, include a useful comparison between EI and the CERB to help workers figure out which program best applies to them. You can access these factsheets here.

Unifor’s top priority is getting workers back on the job - as shown by our successful efforts at Air Canada - but we also want to be there for those who remain out of work, as shown by the factsheets.

As always, please share these updated resources with co-workers, friends, family or anyone you think might need them, whether part of WestJet or not. We are all in this together, and must help one another.

Remember, as well, to continue to check unifor.org/westjet for updates to our EI factsheets. If you have any questions or concerns, please do no hesitate to reach out to one of us.

Ontario
Billy O'Neill, Unifor
[email protected] | 416-605-1443

Quebec
Ada Zampini, Unifor
[email protected] | 514-701-6227

Prairies
Bruce Fafard, Unifor
[email protected] | 587-341-0945

British Columbia
Simon Lau, Unifor
[email protected] | 778-928-9630

Atlantic
Patrick Murray, Unifor
[email protected] | 506-850-7996