Qantas pilots who operate passenger, charter and fly-in-fly-out (Fifo) services in Western Australia will stop work for 24 hours next week, as workers negotiating a new pay deal complain of wages “significantly lower” compared to other airlines.
The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (Afap), which represents pilots employed by Network Aviation – a subsidiary of Qantas Group which operates Qantas Link, Fifo and charter services for the airline in Western Australia – said it notified Qantas management on Thursday afternoon about the stop work action.
Members will proceed with a 24-hour stoppage of all work on Wednesday 4 October.
The stop work action could affect more than 50 flights, including Qantas Link routes from Perth to regional WA towns such as Exmouth, Karratha, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie, as well as to mine sites.
More than 85% of Network Aviation’s 250 pilots are Afap members, and of those, 99.5% voted in favour of taking legally protected industrial action, which included a number of work bans and work stoppages approved by the Fair Work Commission.
The Guardian understands many pilots at the Qantas subsidiary are on base award rates, earning the same as entry level pilots, despite greater performance expectations.
Senior industrial officer Chris Aikens said the Afap “is disappointed that we have had to take this action”.
The Afap has been genuinely negotiating and trying to reach an agreement with Qantas management but the company remains unwilling to revisit its inflexible wages policy instituted under the former CEO [Alan Joyce],” Aitkens said.
Afap also represents pilots employed by Eastern Australia Airlines and Sunstate Airlines – subsidiaries of Qantas Group based in New South Wales and Queensland – who are separately negotiating pay deals and this week voted to approve the taking of legally protected industrial action.
Afap pilots for the subsidiaries operate Qantas Link services that also fly to Victoria and South Australia, as well as internally in the states they are based in. Union membership among the three subsidiaries is above 85%.
A QantasLink spokesperson said the airline had “contingency plans to minimise disruption to customers”.
“We’re working to try and resolve this and avoid any industrial action. Our proposed agreement offers our pilots significant pay rises and more guaranteed days off each roster period and we’re disappointed the AFAP has chosen to move towards industrial action while we have been trying to negotiate,” the spokesperson said.
The stop work action comes as embattled Qantas chairman Richard Goyder continues to defy calls to step down from his position.
Goyder, appearing before a senate inquiry on Wednesday, faced repeated questions about his performance as Qantas chairman in light of recent sagas engulfing the airline, as well as his ability to serve in the role given his chairmanship of Woodside and the AFL Commission.
Shareholder advocates, corporate governance experts and a separate Qantas pilots union have called for Goyder to step down after overseeing the reputational damage sustained from several controversies that forced former CEO Alan Joyce into an early exit.
“Major shareholders are very strongly supportive of me staying and I would also argue that my history in business has been one of high ethics, looking to create value for all our stakeholders,” Goyder told the inquiry.
Qantas has maintained tense relations with unions in recent years, facing legal proceedings from the Transport Workers Union over ground handler outsourcing, as well as with the Australian and International Pilots Association union.
New CEO Vanessa Hudson had indicated she intended to repair relations with unions once she took over from predecessor.
