75% of Virgin pilots have voted in favour of an agreement that locks in substantial improvements to pay and conditions that took a hit when the airline entered administration in 2020.
It follows a Fair Work Commission assisted bargaining process after a TWU-led no vote on an initial proposal from Virgin in July which would have sent pilots backwards.
After the no vote, the revised in-principle agreement provides historic pay increases of up to 21% on base salary over three years that will bridge the gap following significant pay cuts the group made during the pandemic. Pilots fought off further attacks to work rules, annual leave and duty rig provisions. This deal secures enhancements around productivity hourly rates, fatigue credit protections as well as increases to part-time positions to improve work-life balance.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine congratulated pilots on a strong deal.
"This agreement is a testament to the hard work of pilots in pushing for a fair agreement, with significant improvements to pay and work-life balance. But Virgin still has a long way to restore worker morale, not just in the pilot group but across cabin and ground crew.
"Pilots and many others in the Virgin workforce have stuck by this airline throughout administration and helped get it back into the air. Ground crew, cabin crew and pilots have now settled agreements but only after months of negotiations, movements towards industrial action, and assisted bargaining.
"With a new CEO announcement still to come, it's time now for owners Bain Capital to get back to listening to its people who've delivered strong profit results for the airline. We will push to ensure the proposed Qatar stake presents career opportunities for pilots but there are still question marks around what it will mean for the workforce and its culture, with concerns particularly from cabin crew around the airline's track record with workers.
"In just the past few months we've seen the collapse of Bonza and administration of Rex, with the loss of almost 1000 aviation jobs. To stabilise the industry we are in desperate need of a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to rebalance the industry away from the profit obsession of privatised airports and airlines."
