WestJet Strike Averted as Ottawa Imposes Arbitration on Airline, Mechanics

A possible long-weekend strike at WestJet has been averted. The federal government on June 27 directed the airline and plane mechanics into binding arbitration, steering clear of a work stoppage that threatened to disrupt flights for hundreds of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend. In a late-afternoon social media post, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said he was invoking his authority under the Canada Labour Code to end the impasse between the two sides as the clock ticked down toward a June 28 evening deadline. “Strong first agreements set unions and employers on the path of collective bargaining,” Mr. O’Regan said in a statement....