Virgin’s owners on notice from government over Jayne Hrdlicka’s replacement

Employment Minister Murray Watt has issued a veiled warning to Virgin’s owners as the government weighs up the airline’s partnership with Qatar Airways.

Employment Minister Murray Watt. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Employment Minister Murray Watt has put Virgin Australia’s owners on notice that the government is paying close attention to who will succeed Jayne Hrdlicka as chief executive, at the same time as they consider the airline’s proposed deal with Qatar Airways.

His comments at a doorstop in Canberra on Wednesday, come as the airline awaits the government’s verdict on the sale of a 25 per cent stake to Qatar, and additional flights to Doha.

The Transport Workers Union has previously warned it would pull its support for the partnership if former Qantas executive Paul Jones is appointed as Virgin CEO.

Mr Jones is currently chief customer and digital officer at Virgin, and has been named as the front runner to replace Ms Hrdlicka who announced she was preparing to leave a year ago.

The union’s concerns centre on Mr Jones’ involvement in Qantas’ illegal outsourcing of 1683 ground handling workers in 2020, with the Federal Court finding he played a key role in the decision.

Asked for his views on the suitability of Mr Jones for the job, Senator Watt said he believed “most Australians would like to see Virgin choose a CEO with a demonstrated record of putting their workers and the public first”.

“You know the aviation industry has been through a lot over recent years, and I can tell you the workers in the aviation industry have been through an awful lot,” he said at the doorstop with TWU national secretary Michael Kaine.

“It took the TWU with the support of the then Albanese Opposition to stand up to Qantas about the way it illegally sacked its workforce during the pandemic and did a range of other things to hurt its workforce.”

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka has described the deal with Qatar Airways as a career highlight. Picture: Getty Images

He added that “I would certainly hope and expect that Virgin would think about that when it comes to its choice of CEO” before handing over to Mr Kaine for comment.

The TWU boss said the choice of Virgin CEO was “important” given the difficulties that had faced aviation workers in the pandemic years and beyond.

“Part of that has been this person that is potentially up for grabs at Virgin now. That’s not the aviation sector we want to see,” said Mr Kaine.

Neither Virgin Australia nor Bain Capital would comment, other than to acknowledge they were aware of Senator Watt’s remarks.

Virgin Australia’s planned sale of a 25 per cent stake to Qatar Airways has been widely supported by the travel industry, with airports, travel agents and business groups all firmly in favour.

As part of the deal, Qatar Airways will provide aircraft and crew for Virgin Australia to return to international long haul flying, with daily services to Doha due to start from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth in June.

Both the acquisition and flights are subject to regulatory approvals, with the Foreign Investment Review Board and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission still considering their position.

The “wet lease arrangement” between Virgin and Qatar has had mixed support, with flight attendants and pilots concerned it will put pressure on Qantas to use cheaper foreign labour to compete.

Emirates’ boss Tim Clark also questioned whether it was in the spirit of bilateral agreements, given the government previously denied Qatar Airways more air traffic rights to Australia, and is yet to rule on a new application.

In 2023, Transport Minister Catherine King knocked back Qatar’s request for an extra 28 flights a week into Australia, on the basis it was “not in the national interest”.

Minister King never explained the decision in more detail, with many of the belief the knock-back was purely due to opposition from Qantas.

Originally published as Virgin’s owners on notice from government over Jayne Hrdlicka’s replacement