WestJet pilots who fly for airline’s budget carrier will be unionised: ALPA

WestJet Airlines pilots who fly for the company’s budget carrier Swoop will now be unionised, a concession which resolves a key obstacle in a labour dispute with the airline, a negotiator with ALPA said. Friday night, WestJet and its pilots averted a possible strike by approving a settlement process to reach a first contract, with any disputed issues to be resolved through binding arbitration. A first contract is expected in June, said Rob McFadyen, chairman of the carrier’s ALPA master executive council. Pilots who fly for Swoop will now be covered under the same contract as their WestJet mainline counterparts, a demand by the union, which had accused the carrier of outsourcing, he said. It was not yet clear, however, whether Swoop and WestJet’s mainline pilots would have the same salaries. <br/>