“As formal and informal supply of childcare declines, the demand for unpaid childcare provision is falling more heavily on women, not only because of the existing structure of the workforce, but also because of social norms. This will constrain their ability to work, particularly when jobs cannot be carried out remotely. The lack of childcare support is particularly problematic for essential workers who have care responsibilities.” - UN Secretary-General’s policy brief: The impact of COVID-19 on women

Dear Members,


Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers in the fields of economics, social sciences, and our brothers and sisters in labour have been sounding the alarm on the disproportionate impacts of the economic crisis on female workers.

On June 18, 2021, the Union filed their first Policy Grievance (WS-POL-2021-001) with the Employer on behalf of all Westjet (WS) Local 4070 Members.

A policy grievance is unique, in that it does not represent an individual member, but rather, alleges a violation that impacts or could potentially impact all members in a Bargaining Unit. For that reason, we are not bound to the same confidentiality as we would be for an individual grievance affecting one specific member.

The Backstory
The airline industry is robustly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and recalls are occurring with regular frequency. However, other industries that were already limited and strained prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as childcare, have been slower to rebound.

The Union heard from many Members on protected leaves, such as maternity, parental and disability leaves, who had never been officially furloughed due to those protected leaves. These Members, upon notifying the employer that their leaves were set to end, were told that since they had never been furloughed, and because they would have received notice of recall prior to the end of their leave, they were now obligated to return to work.

Many of those Members were struggling to find childcare, or balance other care responsibilities in the home while returning to work. Some members, as a result, opted to end leaves early in order to be issued a layoff notice. This allowed them the same opportunity to safely retain their employment without having to return to work until they were the most junior employee in their base.

The Union approached the Employer several times over the last few months on behalf of these Members. We expressed repeated interest in working on a solution which would not result in hardship for individuals who found themselves in these situations. We were repeatedly met with an overall reluctance to provide simple solutions.

Needless to say, the Union believes this decision has a disproportionate adverse impact on women and mothers in our Membership, as they struggle to balance the immense responsibilities of child and family care with frontline jobs which they are unable to perform remotely.

The Grievance
After filing the Grievance, the Union met with the Employer on July 6, 2021 for the grievance hearing. We took the opportunity to detail the challenges our Members faced in their personal lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Union was willing to work with the Employer and offered a variety of available and creative solutions that would adequately support the needs of these Members; including but not limited to Unpaid Leaves of Absence until the members were most junior on the recall list and the Canadian Caregiver Recovery leave.

The Union maintained there is no monetary or operational hardship to the Employer working with us on this issue. These Members are aware that they are not eligible for compensation under CEWS or from the Employer themselves and with the number of Members that still remain on layoff, and many eager to return to work, we argue their continued absence would create no hardship for the Company. These Members simply need time to allow every-day life to recover post-pandemic before they return to work.

On July 19, 2021, the Employer denied the Grievance and requested the Grievance be withdrawn.

The Union was, admittedly, stunned by this response. Leaning on technicalities around layoffs and protected leaves, the Employer maintained that their hands were tied. The Union reminded them that we had identified these technical concerns in the hearing, and had clearly indicated a willingness to work together on any solution which would adequately provide for equal opportunity to members in this situation.

The Union met with CUPE Legal Counsel on July 21, 2021 and discussed our intention to arbitrate the denial of the Policy Grievance. This matter is scheduled to be reviewed by the Grievance Committee on July 27th.

If you are impacted by this decision, we urge you to provide details on your situation to the Union. Reach out to your Base VP, outlining any pertinent information, copying your Lead Steward and CUPE National Representative.

For Members in Calgary:
Brigitte.Benoit@cupe4070.ca; Jamie.loiselle@cupe4070.ca; vodell@cupe.ca

For Members in Toronto:
Chantale.Tremblay@cupe4070.ca; Jamie.loiselle@cupe4070.ca; vodell@cupe.ca

For Members in Vancouver:
Crystal.Hill@cupe4070.ca; Jamie.loiselle@cupe4070.ca; vodell@cupe.ca

If you would like to read the full report from the UN Secretary-General about the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls, please click here.



In Solidarity,
Your CUPE 4070 Executive Team