WestJet Pilot contract arbitration

[rudder]

TERM 

Jan 1, 2019 – December 31, 2022 


SCOPE 

Industry-standard 76-seat jet/78-seat turboprop restrictions, (e.g. any jet above 76 seats or any turboprop above 78 seats shall be operated by WestJet pilots at the mainline) 
Swoop may operate an initial fleet of up to 30 narrowbody aircraft. Widebody aircraft shall not be operated at Swoop 
WestJet shall guarantee 90% of the number of WestJet Pilot Positions that exist on Jan 1, 2019 
No Pilot to be laid off as a direct result of the Company’s business relationships with other airlines (e.g. CPAs, codeshares, marketing agreements, interline agreements, block space agreements, joint ventures, etc) 
Company shall not codeshare within Canada on aircraft above 76 seats 
Wet lease not to exceed 90 calendars days in any 12-month rolling period unless by Agreement of the Association 


GENERAL 

ALPA data folder to be included on EFB 


SENIORITY 

Pilots in the bargaining unit shall hold the same seniority they held on the WestJet Pilots Department List (WPDL) on the date this Agreement becomes effective 
All Encore pilots who have flowed to WestJet will retain their current seniority 
“One-list” LOU to preserve status quo re: Encore flow/seniority recognition is in progress 


PROBATION 

Elimination of six-month Captain probation 


FILLING OF ASSIGNMENTS 

Voluntary Temporary Duty Assignment language giving pilots the opportunity to fill temporary base assignments for up to four consecutive bid periods in places other than the permanent bases 


SCHEDULING 

Maximum of 16 days worked per month for block holders 
RIG (Ratio in Guarantee). Each pairing/duty period will attract the greater of: 
4.0 hours Minimum Duty Period Credit (MDPC) – Each duty period attracts a minimum of 4.0 hours of credit/pay 
1:4 trip RIG – 1 hour of credit/pay for every 4 hours of TAFB (e.g. 80 hours TAFB = 20 hours credit) 
1:2 duty RIG – 1 hour of credit/pay for every 2 hours on duty (e.g. 12-hour duty period is credited a minimum of 6 hours) 
Fatigue reduction / mitigation language: 
At base: a period of 12 consecutive hours may be reduced to 11 hours with the agreement of the pilot should the company provide suitable accommodations at or near the airport 
Away from base: for duty periods of up to 12 hours, a minimum period of 10.5 consecutive hours of rest shall be planned. For duty periods exceeding 12 hours, the minimum period of rest shall equal or exceed the length of the preceding duty period 
Flight Duty Period (FDP) tables in agreement, which will be implemented within 6 months of the award, CARS (more restrictive) will be implemented within 2 years 
Max of 10% five-day pairings on narrow body aircraft of total system pairings 
Socialized schedule bidding remains 
Release of schedules by the 21st of each month by 1900 Mountain Time 
Wind down of the Time Bank program in 2019 
Partial Trade restrictions 


RESERVE 

Reserve positions will only be required of new hires, or those pilots knowingly bidding onto a position they currently cannot hold, with exception for pilots in the Reduced Block Program who will be eligible to hold one 5-day block of reserve per month. 
Max days worked for mixed line holders of 16 days and 18 days for pure reserve holders 
The Minimum Monthly Guarantee for a reserve line holder is 77.5 credit hours 
Eight of a reserve pilot’s days off per month are GDOs, awarded by seniority 
All reserve starts as “Long Call” reserve 
A pilot’s duty time is to include 33% of the time that the pilot on reserve in a Reserve Availability Period (RAP) 
Ability to pass (based on seniority) 
Order of callout: pilot volunteering on a day off is called prior to activating a reserve pilot 


DEADHEADING 

Window or aisle seat language captured 
Premium economy (when available) language captured 


COMMUTING/ACM 

No limitations on commuting language. The only responsibility of a pilot who chooses to commute is to report as scheduled, fit for duty, and fully rested 
ACM policy as it exists on the date of the award continues going forward with right to grieve if arbitrarily cancelled 


TRAVEL PRIVILEGES/JUMPSEAT 

At no time will pilots receive lesser travel privileges than any other employee group pursuant to the company’s Travel Privileges Policy and/or Retirement Policy 
Active pilots in uniform will be afforded first standby jumpseat access where there is no seat available in the passenger cabin 


HOTELS AND TRANSPORTATION 

Unless mutually agreed upon by the association and the company, the location of a hotel shall be a maximum of 20 minutes driving time from the arrival airport of the planned overnight 
When a layover is scheduled for 18 hours or more, the hotel shall be located in the downtown core of the principle city served by the airport, which is within a normal 30-minute drive (one-way), or in an alternate location agreed upon by the Hotel Selection Committee (HSC) 


UNIFORMS 

New-hire pilots receive initial allotment of uniform pieces 
All pilots receive $250 annually to a maximum $1000 bank for uniform pieces 
Should the company change the style, colour, or pieces of the uniform, the company shall bear the cost of providing replacement pieces to the pilots 
Simplified dry cleaning allowance: $50/month for full block pilots, $30/month for reduced block pilots 


TRAINING 

Defined process in contract for unsuccessful training events, unsuccessful checks, failure to advance and for captain upgrade 


FLIGHT SAFETY 

Held out of service after an incident or accident — full pay protection 
Accident investigation protocol and ALPA participation 
Strict language regarding aircraft electronic recording and reporting devices 
New joint FDM committee composed of Association and company members 


MANAGEMENT PILOTS 

Limitations on revenue flying by management pilots 


LAYOFF AND RECALL 

30-day layoff notice for a pilot affected by a layoff 
Any pilot who is involuntarily laid off will be entitled to two weeks’ pay for each full year of completed, active service up to a maximum of 20 weeks’ pay 
A pilot shall retain their right to be recalled for a period of 120 consecutive months from the effective date of their layoff 
Protection for a junior pilot who is on a contract while on layoff 


PAY AND COMPENSATION 

From current pay tables: 
Jan 1, 2019: 2% 
Jan 1, 2020: 2% 
Jan 1, 2021: 2% 
Jan 1, 2022: 2.5%  
Length of Service pay (LOS pay) becomes effective Jan 1, 2020 
LOS examples: 
1) a current year 3 Captain who has been at WestJet for 11 years will be on the 11-year Captain pay scale 
2) an FO who has been at WestJet for 8 years and upgrades to Captain will enter the Captain pay scale at year 8 
Blocking overtime trigger now 85 hours 
Premium pay for voluntary extensions 
Deadhead credited at 50% of the scheduled or actual block time, whichever is greater, which will count toward a pilot’s monthly scheduling credit 
Minimum credit per taxi only leg will be 20 minutes. Actual taxi time in excess of 20 minutes will be considered block growth 
Home-based training pay: 1 hour pay for every 3 hours of scheduled home-based (online) training 
Training Pay: 4.5 credit hours 


VARIABLE COMPENSATION 

ESPP, Stock Option Plan, OPA and Profit Share continue as they exist on the date of award without amendment and are to be included with their current terms and conditions in the Variable Compensation section of the collective agreement 
Pension: Language that serves as a pathway to a Target Benefit pension plan. A one-time option of either staying with the current 20/20 ESP program or changing the contribution levels/matching amounts in the ESP plan with reallocation of half of the current employer match as an employer contribution to a Target Benefit pension plan (eg. 10% ESP with 100% employer match; 10% employer pension contribution) 


BENEFITS 

Status quo to be codified in collective agreement; except for LTD 
LTD: pilot-only plan to be arranged with pilots paying 100% of the premiums. Parties to meet promptly following the issue of this award to determine coverage levels and seek bids. Process to be completed within 6 months. In the meantime, status quo 


EXPENSES 

Meal Cost Replacement: Travel within Canada/Mainland US: $3.40 CAD, International Travel (incl. Hawaii): $5.50 CAD 
Currency conversion eliminated 
MCR rates increase by 2% each year 


MOVING 

Voluntary Toronto relocation eliminated 
The maximum of all associated relocation costs shall not exceed a total of $45,000 for relocation costs and $12,500 for land transfer tax ($57,500 total) 


VACATION 

Current process (points bidding system) and values codified in CA 
Three VAC/STAT blocks in a month no longer guarantees the whole month off 
Vacation/Stat Credit remains at 4.5 credit hours 


SICK LEAVE 

54 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year 
Sick leave credits carry over to following year to a max bank of 120 hours 
After seven continuous calendar days of sickness for the same illness or injury, a pilot will apply for STD 


REDUCED BLOCK PROGRAM (FORMERLY PART-TIME PROGRAM) 

Current participants grand-parented 
Narrow body only, no less than 76 positions, additional positions added at company’s discretion 
Scheduling window: 50 to 65 credit hours 
MMG: 50 hours 
Maximum of 10 days per month but may be scheduled a maximum of 14 days per month up to five times per year 
Company shall provide notice prior to bid close for month being flexed up 
Individual RBP pilots will not be scheduled for a flex window for both July and August in the same calendar year 
A specific position or a base will not be scheduled for more than 3 increased flex windows in a row 
Up to one block of 5 OCD days may be assigned 
Upon reserve implementation: up to one on block of 5 RSV days may be assigned 


SWOOP LOU 

Company proposal awarded (details to follow but for now assume current Swoop conditions apply with some variations)

[SJPFTW]

Hey @rudder Is this all confirmed and from an official source? Just wondering because I am really surprised because I always thought that WJ pilots would have achieved better terms than these?

[beaverboy]

He has published a portion of the arbitration.   The entire CA will be out mid January.  

[DEFCON]

I'm not so sure WJ has an ALPA problem?

It's obvious some don't like the arbitrated result, which isn't anything new when it comes to settling employment contracts using that method, but from what I've seen so far, the WJ results don't look too bad for an initial agreement?