Qantas Short Haul pilots today voted to reject a new agreement that was not endorsed by the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP).
Of the 786 Qantas Short Haul pilots that voted, 63.4% voted against the deal.
The rejected agreement included a two-year wage freeze despite Qantas posting more than a billion dollars in post-tax profit for the most recent financial year.
Comments attributable to AFAP Executive Director Simon Lutton:
“The AFAP did not endorse the proposed agreement based on the direct feedback from our members and our survey results. Qantas’ insistence on a two-year wage freeze despite being highly profitable while also seeking concessions on key conditions was viewed by pilots as unreasonable.”
“While the proposed agreement did include important improvements in conditions for pilots, ultimately these were not enough to overcome the wage freeze and other concessions in the package.”
“The AFAP remains committed to a negotiated outcome and has already presented options and solutions to Qantas that would meet our members expectations. We are not that far apart and the AFAP is ready to get to work and resolve an agreement quickly.”
“If Qantas chooses to ignore the vote outcome and resort to its traditional hostile bargaining tactics this negotiation could escalate. This negotiation does not need to become a protracted dispute if Qantas is willing to work with the AFAP in good faith to address our concerns with the agreement.”
The AFAP is the largest pilot union in Australia representing more than 5,500 pilots. Within Qantas the AFAP represents a rapidly growing pilot membership after regaining the right to cover Qantas pilots in 2022.