WestJet CEO to provide update after mechanics union announces strike, flights canceled | LIVE

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech is set to provide an update from the airline's Calgary headquarters on Saturday morning. This comes after WestJet had to cancel at least 150 flights on Saturday after the union maintaining the airline’s planes announced it went on strike hours earlier. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) announced its members started to strike at around 5:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday in response to the airline’s “unwillingness to negotiate with the union made the strike inevitable.” WestJet has condemned the move by the mechanics union, saying it’s “extremely outraged at these actions and will hold AMFA 100 per cent accountable for the unnecessary stress and costs incurred as a result.” The strike comes after the Canadian federal government issued a ministerial order for binding arbitration on Thursday. The order also followed two weeks of turbulent discussions with the union on a new deal. In a post shared to X on Saturday, Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan Jr. said he is reviewing the decision on the matter by the country's labor board – a decision he called "clearly inconsistent with my direction." "I will be taking additional steps to protect the interests of the employer, the union and all Canadians traveling over this national holiday weekend," O'Regan wrote. For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/10596065/westjet-stike-flight-cancellations-long-weekend/ Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ Follow Global News on X HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB #GlobalNews #WestJet #Strike