Australian Pilots Union Rejects Qantas Airways’ Wage Proposal

The Australian pilots union announced on Tuesday that it has turned down a wage proposal from Qantas Airways for its short-haul pilots, occurring shortly after the airline’s engineers staged a strike to demand better pay conditions.

The proposal included a two-year wage freeze, increased minimum guaranteed hours, higher standby pay, and guaranteed payments for flying hours potentially lost due to unplanned disruptions or schedule changes during a roster period.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) stated that Qantas’ insistence on a wage freeze, despite the airline’s strong profitability, and its request for concessions on key conditions were deemed unreasonable by the pilots. Qantas reported an annual profit after tax of A$1.25 billion for fiscal 2024.

Out of 786 short-haul Qantas pilots who participated in the vote, 63.4% opposed the deal. This rejection follows a strike by the airline’s engineers last Thursday, who are advocating for a 5% annual pay increase.

The pilots’ union has warned of possible escalation if the airline disregards the vote’s outcome. AFAP Executive Director Simon Lutton indicated that if Qantas chooses to overlook the results and employs its traditional aggressive bargaining tactics, negotiations could escalate further, although he did not specify what that might involve.

A Qantas representative stated that the agreement presented for the vote included several structural enhancements to pay and rostering conditions that the pilots had been seeking for years. The spokesperson added that the airline would take time to consider the next steps following the vote’s outcome.