Following revelations in the Herald
last week about Qantas's plans to hire lower paid staff via a new
business subsidiary - QF Cabin Crew Pty Ltd - the airline struck a deal
with the Flight Attendants Association last night. Under the deal, all
new cabin crew will be paid the same as Jetstar crews.
They
will also have to work more than 30 per cent more hours than Qantas
long-haul crews for around 25 per cent less money, or about half the
pay on an hourly basis.
Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon has lauded the deal as "a positive outcome for all concerned".
"This agreement will help provide the level of competitiveness Qantas
must have in the highly competitive international aviation industry,"
Mr Dixon said in a statement.
Qantas
will hire the first 550 lower paid crew by June next year in
preparation for the first deliveries of its Airbus A380 superjumbos.
The airline's introduction of Boeing 787s into its fleet will require
it to ramp up its crew numbers dramatically by 2010.
However,
in a bid to appease its existing 3000 long-haul cabin crew based in
Australia, Qantas has agreed to a new five-year pay deal.
Under
the agreement, existing crews will get a 3 per cent per annum pay rise,
increased superannuation benefits, extra parental leave and improved
chances of promotion. If the deal is approved by members of the Flight
Attendants Association of Australia's long-haul arm, existing crews
will also get a $3000 sign-on bonus. Existing crews will also not have
to work the extra 50-odd hours the new lower-paid crews will have to
work each eight -week roster period.
In a bid to arrest the
low morale among its cabin crew, Qantas has agreed to boost the number
of crews on its 747s (with the new premium economy class) with one new
crew member and provide more flying hours on regional routes in Asia to
long-haul crew. At present Qantas has increased numbers of low-paid
casual staff and domestic flight attendants on flights into China,
India and Hong Kong.
Qantas has also agreed to cap the
level of overseas cabin crew at 25 per cent, or after the new crew
intake, at about 1250. This will allow Qantas to hire about 400 more
crew at its Auckland, Bangkok and London bases.
The Flight
Attendants Association of Australia has claimed victory. The head of
its international division Michael Mijatov said the union had "secured
the future of existing cabin crew and beyond that improved" their pay
and conditions.
In light of Qantas making 1000 long-haul
cabin crew redundant in recent years - despite growing its fleet - Mr
Mijatov said there was the risk Qantas could make the remainder of its
Australian crews redundant and replace them with lower paid
non-unionised crews on AWAs.
"We were looking down the
barrel of actually being shut down," he said. The new lower paid crews
are entitled to sign up as union members.
Despite the fact
that the new cabin crew members hired by the airline will be on lower
pay, Mr Mijatov said the union had secured some good benefits for them
compared with Jetstar crews.
by Scott Rochfort | Sydney Morning Herald | SOURCE |
http://business.smh.com.au/cut-rate-crew-for-qantas/20071127-1d38.html
