The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is calling out WestJet Airline Ltd.‘s use of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, and the government’s approval of the company’s application, to fill vacancies during what the industry says is a pilot labour shortage.

Tim Perry, who leads the Canadian arm of the group, said the pilots union is deeply concerned that WestJet is citing an inability to attract Canadian pilots to its airline as the rationale for hiring temporary foreign pilots.

“Their request to hire foreign pilots is problematic and short-sighted and will cause irreparable damage to labour relations,” he said on Friday.

The pilots union said WestJet’s management team has failed to address the issue of career progression and job security for pilots within the company. It said there are more practical solutions to attracting and retaining skilled professional pilots that do not involve utilizing the program.

ALPA, which represents 95 per cent of professional Canadian pilots, reached a collective bargaining agreement with WestJet in May 2023, bumping its pilots’ pay by 24 per cent over four years. At the time, several North American airlines were also set for negotiations with pilots amid labour shortages.

The group said there should be considerations required when assessing highly skilled, licensed, unionized workers employed under terms set out through collective bargaining.

“As we have said before, ALPA Canada supports legal immigration, which includes a stable pathway to citizenship, with labour mobility rights. However, we do not support the status of these employees in Canada when it is under the control and subject to the whims of an employer,” Perry said.

• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com

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