Following Qantas half-yearly results of $1.39 billion in underlying profit, the TWU is calling on the airline to ensure it funds good, secure aviation jobs throughout its supply chain.
The announcement follows two consecutive years of profits exceeding $2 billion.
Over 1800 illegally sacked Qantas workers will soon begin to receive compensation following a four-year court battle, with the airline appealing all the way to the High Court.
Ground workers in Qantas' supply chain are still struggling with poor rostering, low guaranteed hours and lack of job security because of the airline's model of contracts constantly going to a lower bidder.
Over the last decade, Qantas split its workforce-which used to be mostly permanent, directly-hired jobs-into 21 external companies and 17 subsidiaries, dragging down pay and conditions.
A TWU survey of over 2000 aviation workers revealed conditions at airports have reached crisis levels, with 48% injured at work, 89% pressured to work unsafely, and 92% wanting to keep working in aviation but 75% saying they can't continue under current pay and conditions.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said:
"Qantas is back to making billions, but it has a long way to go to convince Australians that their money's going to the airline they used to know and love.
"What Qantas lost sight of in the last decade is that treating your workers with decency is an investment, not a cost. Instead Qantas has focused on short-term profit and in doing so drove its reputation into the ground.
"Sought-after, lifetime aviation careers have become a revolving door under Qantas. Across its supply chain the Qantas workforce is now a Frankensteined collection of 38 companies that the airline outsourced to, and now forces to bid against each other for scraps of work. It's not just workers but the entire travelling public paying the price.
"If Qantas wants to return to its status as the Flying Kangaroo then there's a clear path forward: it must pay its fair share to see a return to decent aviation jobs and standards, after a decade of slashing wages and fanatical outsourcing.
"Ultimately we need independent oversight in aviation-otherwise we'll keep seeing airline and airport executives making decisions for short-term profit gain instead of a decent industry for all."
NOTES
- This year dnata ground workers, who perform Qantas work in certain ports, took national strike action to begin rebuilding decent aviation jobs. Dnata has committed to working with the TWU for industry reform
- Also in 2024, Qantas made a series of complaints to ground handling company Swissport for significant incidents reports. The TWU has long raised safety concerns with Swissport and at the end of last year a worker in Brisbane was seriously injured
- The TWU has taken action towards reversing the Qantas effect, with applications using Same Job Same Pay laws at Qantas Freight and Jetstar cabin crew
