Bargaining Update #40: Understanding Sunwing Mapping
Dear Members,
We have prepared the following reference document to transparently communicate the Sunwing mapping negotiated for our Tentative Agreement. The full language will be made available once our agreement is compiled.
Sunwing Pay-Step Mapping
The Sunwing pay-step mapping is one of the more technical parts of the tentative agreement because it replaces the CIRB wage-integration language with a process that moves former Sunwing employees onto the WestJet Collective Agreement pay grid.
A member's final placement depends on two main factors:
their cumulative active service at Sunwing and WestJet; and
their applicable Sunwing hourly rate as of September 30, 2026.
What remains consistent
The proposed agreement uses the same service bands that existed in the former Sunwing Flight Attendant wage grid, beginning at 0–6 months and continuing through 120+ months.
It also requires cumulative active service to be calculated in accordance with Sunwing Collective Agreement No. 3.
Service at Sunwing - is carried forward, with former Sunwing employees being mapped onto the new WestJet pay grid.
How the mapping works:
Step 1: Service-based placement on the WestJet pay grid
Former Sunwing employees are first assigned a WestJet pay step based on their total cumulative active service at Sunwing and WestJet:
| Active service | Initial WestJet step |
|---|---|
| Less than 12 months | Step 1 |
| 12+ months | Step 2 |
| 24+ months | Step 3 |
| 36+ months | Step 4 |
| 48+ months | Step 5 |
| 60+ months | Step 6 |
| 72+ months | Step 7 |
| 84+ months | Step 8 |
| 96+ months | Step 9 |
| 108+ months | Step 10 |
| 120+ months | Step 11 |
Step 2: Wage-protection comparison
Each member hourly rate at the service-based initial WestJet step is then compared with the member applicable Sunwing rate as of September 30, 2026.
If the member hourly rate on the WestJet Collective Agreement pay grid is higher than the member applicable Sunwing rate as of September 30, 2026, the member remains on their initial WestJet pay step as determined above.
If the member hourly rate on the WestJet Collective Agreement pay grid is equal to or lower than the member Sunwing rate, the member moves to the closest WestJet step that is higher than the member's current Sunwing rate.
This means two employees with the same active service may receive different final steps if their applicable Sunwing rates are different.
Flight Attendants and Cabin Safety Managers
Under the former Sunwing agreement, Cabin Crew Members included both Flight Attendants and Cabin Safety Managers. CSM was a separate classification with its own pay structure and progression.
The proposed mapping does not recreate the Sunwing CSM classification at WestJet.
However, if a former CSM had a higher applicable Sunwing hourly rate, that rate is used in the same wage-protection comparison described above. This may result in a higher final WestJet pay step.
This is a wage-protection outcome. It does not provide additional seniority, change the Master Seniority List or continue CSM status at WestJet.
Employees whose current pay rate is above the WestJet Collective Agreement pay grid
If a member’s applicable Sunwing rate is higher than the WestJet Collective Agreement Step 11 rate, they receive a one-time choice:
move to Step 11 of the WestJet Collective Agreement pay grid and become eligible for the WestJet Savings Plan (with up to 20% Employer contribution) and rotational lead-duty payment of 3.125%; or
remain temporarily under the applicable Integration Transition Document compensation provisions (i.e. remain at their current Sunwing rate of pay with current Sunwing RRSP provisions). Employees who choose this option will receive their applicable rate of pay until Step 11 of the WestJet Collective Agreement pay grid exceeds their applicable rate of pay or until the expiry of this Collective Agreement.
What happens after mapping
Once mapped to the WestJet CA2 pay grid, employees begin progressing under the WestJet collective agreement.
Employees placed above their service-based step through the wage-protection rule are deemed to have the active service needed to hold that pay step for future pay progression only. This does not give them additional seniority.
For a comprehensive question and answer document, please click here.
In Unity,
Your WestJet Mainline Bargaining Committee