CALGARY — The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing WestJet Encore pilots, says its members rejected the tentative deal reached last month, with just over half voting the agreement down. 

Of the 92 percent of eligible pilots who cast ballots, 53 percent voted against the agreement.

The union says despite improvements to compensation and scheduling, the pilots wanted to see more action from WestJet to address ongoing issues with pilot recruitment, retention and morale. 

WestJet says the results of the ratification vote do not impact operations. 

“We are disappointed to learn that our WestJet Encore pilots have rejected an agreement that is distinctly competitive within Canada’s airline industry and solutioned their unique concerns,” said Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Group Chief Operating Officer. “Our tentative agreement represented a robust negotiation process that got us to our final offer, and while we will meet with ALPA to determine next steps, we will hold firm on what is reasonable to ensure we can continue providing meaningful employment and affordable air travel to Canadians.”

According to ALPA, the results of the vote reiterate that there is a deep-seated feeling that management fails to recognize the pilots’ needs beyond matters tied to compensation.

“Despite contract improvements to compensation and scheduling, our pilots held strong in their belief that management isn’t doing enough to address the ongoing pilot attraction and retention issues and low morale that remain at our airline,” said Capt. Carin Kenny, chair of the WestJet Encore ALPA Master Executive Council. “In the wake of this vote, we are hopeful management finally understands that more must done to address the issues that clearly remain for our pilots.”

Pilots with WestJet’s regional subsidiary approved a strike mandate on April 2 by 97 per cent.

With file from The Canadian Press