Out of nowhere, WestJet announced this week that it is changing your benefits, for the worse.
Less than three weeks before the formal takeover of the company by Onex, the impact of the new ownership is already being felt. This costly $5-billion takeover will be paid for in part by you and your families in the form of fewer and cheaper benefits.
This is not new. Companies buying other companies typically look for ways to cut costs at the newly acquired firm in hopes of covering the costs of the purchase - particularly when the purchase price is high and the companies are operating in a highly competitive market, both of which apply in the WestJet/Onex deal.
And it’s not over yet. WestJet also announced this week that an outside “Continuous Improvement Team” will be at Toronto’s Pearson Airport over the next couple of weeks looking for efficiencies in the WestJet operations there.
It is hard to imagine that this will be good for the workers in Toronto, and unlikely that “continuous improvement” will be contained to Pearson. The search for efficiencies at YYZ is due to wrap up just before the July 23 shareholders meeting to approve the Onex takeover.
Coincidence? Not likely.
Without a union, all this is happening without your input and without your voice being heard.
When there is a union in the workplace, the employer cannot unilaterally change benefits or any other form of compensation. In unionized workplaces, the company must sit down with the union - your elected leaders - to work out any changes that it wants to make and negotiate a deal that is best for you and for the company.
It cannot, as WestJet did this week, announce that it is now grouping physio, massage, chiropractics, acupuncture, nutrition and more into one category and allowing a maximum of $1,000 total for all. Under the old benefits, the company covered each of these services to a maximum of $500 each.
For anyone needing more than one of these services, which is not uncommon, the new benefits represent a serious cut to their compensation and a real threat to their health. A union would have pointed that out. A union would have worked with the company to find a better solution.
Make no mistake, WestJet has the capacity to take your needs into consideration, it simply chose not to.
After all, the company took the time to work out the various ways it could save a few dollars on benefits. It took the time to consider how to roll this new plan out, and it took the time to put together a slick booklet outlining the new benefits.
It did not, however, take the time to consult with any of you.
More changes are coming. Sign a Unifor card, encourage your co-workers to sign a card, and get a seat at the table before it’s too late.
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
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