Qantas Short Haul EA Update No 15 – Response to Chief Pilot Update
As SH pilots will be aware, the Chief Pilot issued communications to the SH pilot group on Friday which referenced communications from the AFAP.
In the referenced communications we outlined that in the event of a no vote we would seek to negotiate a wages policy compliant outcome that meets our members’ requirements on guaranteed wage rises, and that we were confident we could do so. We referenced a positive meeting with the Qantas SH EA team on 6 September. The AFAP stand behind our communications as an accurate outline of the meeting.
Qantas IR Correspondence
Shortly after the release of the Chief Pilot’s update, correspondence was sent by Nathan Safe (the new Executive Manager of Industrial Relations) to the AFAP’s Executive Director Simon Lutton. This was a standard “Friday fax” which provided no opportunity for the AFAP to respond prior to the SH pilots receiving a partial update. Please find attached Nathan Safe’s correspondence in full
here.
We would normally ignore these types of tactics, as they follow a familiar pattern from Qantas IR of resorting to threats when there is an impending EA vote. We saw this during the variation, with Qantas IR directly threatening to outsource SH pilot jobs to another unnamed Qantas Group airline if the variation was not approved.
However, given it is clear Qantas are seeking to deliberately undermine trust in the AFAP, we responded over the weekend. Please find the correspondence attached
here.
Qantas responded yesterday without answering the questions raised in our correspondence. This reinforces to the AFAP that Qantas do not believe this deal will be voted up on its merits alone, without resorting to intimidatory tactics.
AFAP Approach
The AFAP’s position remains the same despite the intervention of the new Head of Industrial Relations into a bargaining process he has had no role in. We will continue to pursue a negotiated outcome in the event of a no vote, we will continue to present solutions that meet our members’ expectations and we will not be deterred by hostile bargaining tactics.
As we have outlined, the AFAP will seek guaranteed wage rises that still comply with the Qantas wages policy. We have done this successfully at Jetstar, Sunstate and Eastern, all with successful yes votes at the first vote.
We have not reached the decision to recommend a no vote lightly. We have not promised the world to our members, instead we have presented a measured position recognising the benefits on offer and highlighting an alternative proposal that would bridge the gap between what Qantas are advertising as a pay-rise and what Qantas are guaranteeing as a pay-rise. This alternative proposal satisfies what members have asked for through our surveys and direct feedback.
Our communications are balanced, highlighting both the positives in the proposed EA and the concessions, which were notably absent from the Chief Pilot’s communications last week.
We trust SH pilots to make their decision on how to vote based on the information available and to ignore the underhanded and threatening tactics.
Regards,
AFAP Industrial Team
Simon Lutton - Executive Director
Patrick Larkins – Senior Legal/ Industrial Officer
Chris Aikens - Senior Legal/ Industrial Officer