Wages announcement late and beyond disappointing
Five days late, and then nothing.
After leaving its frontline airport workers hanging for almost a week, WestJet has announced that there will be no pay increase for this year. The employer says the rates already paid are the median for the industry, but provides no evidence to back up the claim.
Without details such as who in the industry the employer is comparing your wages to, and how it is weighing the evidence, it is impossible to tell if the company’s comparison is accurate.
What we do know is that WestJet has failed to recognize your contributions to the company’s success, even as it acknowledges in a memo to staff that your jobs have changed, and that is not acceptable.
We also know that WestJet is today reporting a whopping 33.4 per cent jump in profits, thanks to increased traffic – so there’s money to go around, just not for the frontline staff handling all that increased traffic.
Frontline airport workers have stood by the company as it grew into a national carrier and it grows internationally now. These have been difficult adjustments at times that were made easier by the hard work of you and your co-workers. This deserves to be recognized.
It is also impossible to know what your wages might be a year from now. With a union, your annual wage increases are negotiated years in advance, giving you the flexibility you need to plan for the future and build a life for you and your family.
Without Unifor the union, you have no voice and no power to negotiate wage increases, let alone enjoy any predictability. As well, once again the AEA is missing in action as important decisions are made about your job and your compensation.
You deserve better. You deserve to be heard. You deserve that your hard work be recognized.
For more information, or to sign a Unifor card, please contact one of your organizers.
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
