Latest / DEEP INSIGHT / What's going on with the WestJet strike

Transcript

What's going on with the WestJet strike · DEEP INSIGHT

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Tens of thousands of West Jet passengers are just anxiously
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: awaiting to see if their flights are going to take
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: off as planned this weekend. The union representing its flight
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: attendants they've issued a seventy two hour strike notice. The
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: airline has responded with a seventy two hour lockout notice
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: of its own, and if these two sides don't reach
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: a deal, workers could be on the picket lines as
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: early as Sunday, seems to News caught up with some
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: potentially affected Canadians at Toronto's Pierson Airport.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Tickels, convenience of flying and the luxuries that we have
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: are really important, right, But at the end of the day,
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: I think the most important thing is like the workers,
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Like you know.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: You have to be fair.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: I'm sure if there's a strike as a reason.
• 0:36
  Speaker 4: People got a strike, I believe in labor rights, so
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: you know what, it's a necessary evil. I think there's
• 0:42
  Speaker 4: a festival I'm going to, so I'm gonna ignore it
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: until Sunday.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I don't know if I would have booked with West
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Jet if I knew that this book was happening. So
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: a lot at stake, especially for the travelers involved and
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: they've now Michelle issued these sort of dueling seventy two
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: hours notices and I can never really get a read
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: when this happens. This is just kind of the high
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: stakes brinkmanship of that or is it just part of
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: the process. What's your read on where we are in
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: this dispute?
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Well, the fact that they chose a long weekend where
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: you know, I suspect that there's a lot more people
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: traveling on West shut than than even on other summer weekends.
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: And you know, I think that you know, I think
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: we learned this from a similar dispute on Air Canada,
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: that the public was really with the workers, right, it
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: is only fair that you get paid for the hours
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: that you're working, and so you know, it was interesting that,
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: you know, you're talking to those people who are all
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: going to be impacted themselves, but you know, it was
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: clear where their support kind of kind of rests. So,
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: you know, I I suspect that each side thinks the
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: other will blink. But with public opinion, probably with the workers,
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: I suspect they're the ones that are not going to Rachel.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you agree that public opinions with
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: the workers, it often is heading into it. It sometimes
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: shifts once it actually comes into a dispute where they're
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: losing out on their travel plans or whatever it is.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Do you think the stomach the public can stomach an
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: actual lockout or strike or disruption of service like this.
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: I think it's an interesting question, Peter, because we saw
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: public opinions so strongly on the side of the flight
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: attendants last time. The question is, I think it's a
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: bit too early to figure it out this time, whether
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: or not Canadians are still willing to put up with
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: flight disruptions. But two things in this situation can both
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: be true. One that workers deserve pay for any hours
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: that they work, and also that Canada deserves a healthy
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: airline industry. And you know, we've had so many issues
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: in this country, a country that is vast, that is
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: air travel is such a critical part of our identity
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: as Canadians, and yet we've seen such limited competition. We
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: had a competition Bureaut talking about that this year as well.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: But last summer, the Conservatives, before the House rose you
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: might remember this, put out a bill four O nine,
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: the Fairness for Flight Attendants Acts. That bill didn't pass,
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: but it talked about a lot of these issues, things
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: that you might not think that the Conservatives would put
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: forward having the labor code changed, when we typically might
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: see Conservatives, you know, try and have that government intervention
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: not included in these types of situations. But something like
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: that had Parliament past, that would have directly impacted what
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: we're seeing today. So I agree with Michelle. I think,
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: you know, this long weekend, it's going to be very
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: frustrating for travelers. But again, you know, the air can
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: and flight attendants did an incredible job of getting that
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: message out there last year and getting Canadians on side
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: with their message. I feel that that will translate into
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: this strike, which hopefully hopefully will not last very long.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Andrew like all eyes are really on the FEDS to
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: see if they'll step in if this does go ahead.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: QP is explicitly calling on Ottawa to stay at US
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: and respect the process. How much pressure is there going
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: to be on the FEDS to act if indeed we
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: do find ourselves in a disruption work disruption scenario.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Well, it's an interesting question. I suspect to be significantly
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: less with it being west yet than it being your Canada.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: To be quite honest about it, I mean Western is
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: still largely a regional player. It doesn't have the same
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: kind of an international network. It's a different type of
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: a carrier, more passenger oriented than necessarily also tied into
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: the supply chains and cargo. So, you know, I think
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: it's probably there will be less pressure. Doesn't mean there
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: won't be angry travelers if, in fact it does move
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: into a strike after the long weekend or somewhere on
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: the return part of it. I do find it curious though,
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: that Eric Canada has been successful even this year in
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: reaching a number of other deals with their employees and
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: the unions, and what is different that makes Western I
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: think somehow it can move beyond this or somehow hold
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: back the tides of what are clearly turning in terms
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: of the aviation industry. You know, we've seen for years
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: in sector based marketing, certainly in the auto sector, that
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: once one major employer reaches a deal with a group
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: of employees, that usually translates across the sector. It's unclear
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: whether there's different issues here at play with West JED
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: or a different business model, but it is really, I
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: think a bit curious that we can see that we
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: don't see this simply translating across the sector. Now, obviously
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: there's implications for that. I think we all know that
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: that there are, you know, potentially cost implications as that
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: flows through. But but you know, that's the business model
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: that west Jett needs to work within that obviously her
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Canada's functioning within.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: Michelle is going to give the last word to you. You
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: got about a minute. What are the political risks for
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: the government if they choose not to intervene, at least immediately.
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: Well, I think there's more of a risk intervening immediately
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: than not. You know, I think that you want to
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: try and let the bargaining process work that both to
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: get both sides to the table and and talking, certainly
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: in terms of potentially mediating in that that's one thing,
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: and then I guess there's always the other option of
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: you know, getting them legislated back to work. But I
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: think that, you know, there, as we saw last time,
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: I can't remember quite how long the Air Canada was
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: out for before it kind of came back, but it
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: was at least a week I'm going to say. And
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: you know, I think that I remember being one of
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: those inconvenients past.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: Sorry about that. I wanted to give you the last word,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: but I've run out of time. Thanks so much for this,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Michelle Canario, Rachel Siegel, and Andrew Thompson.