For the first time, Qantas freight pilots from all of Qantas Group’s unions will take action together over the airline’s most recent pay offer.
The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) says the union recently filed protected action ballots alongside the other two unions involved with Qantas that will see Express Freighters pilots take a stand against the offer.
From Friday, low-level actin will begin that involves ceasing work on days off and not completing work before scheduled shifts.
The unions have also established a path for escalating action without a new offer from Qantas, with more than 90 per cent of Express Freighters pilots voting yes to the ballots to take action.
Express Freighters pilots’ work includes a significant amount for Australia Post parcel freight, with the ballot meaning more than 100 pilots have the right to take industrial action.
After six months of negotiation, the TWU says Qantas has refused to improve an offer that in some cases would see pilots’ remuneration hovering around the bare legal minimum of the Air Pilots Award 2020.
“Industrial action is always a last resort, but once again we’ve seen Qantas come to the bargaining table seeking to lowball its workers instead of give them a fair offer,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine says.
“Pilots in the Qantas Group across three unions are standing up and saying it’s time Qantas comes forward with an industry-standard deal that provides improvements to work-life balance and decent pay increases.
“Across the Qantas supply chain we are still seeing workers struggling with poor rostering, declining conditions, and contracts going to the cheapest bidder. Time and again we’ve heard Qantas say it’s changed but we are yet to see evidence of that.
“We need to stop seeing workers treated as a cost to be lowered rather than an investment. We need a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to rebalance the industry and make sure it benefits everyone.”
Earlier this year, Qantas posted half-yearly results of $1.39 billion in underlying profit.
The TWU and Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) are calling for an increase in pay to match current industry standards, as well as improvements to roster protections and additional days off to improve work-life balance.
The TWU says Express Freighters pilots perform mostly overnight, “back of the clock” flights and spend up to 260 hours away from home per month.
“When compared to equivalent pilots, the offer made by Qantas to its Express Freighters pilots represents the lowest terms and conditions on virtually every metric,” AFAP executive director Simon Lutton says.
“It is a very big step for pilots to engage in protected industrial action however Qantas have left Express Freighters pilots with no alternative.
“After many years of being exploited by Qantas, Express Freighters pilots have said enough is enough.
“It is disappointing that it has come to this however we hope that by Express Freighters pilots exercising their lawful rights, Qantas will now come to the table with a fair and reasonable offer.”
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