Qantas calls for staff volunteers for busy holiday travel period

Qantas has come under fire for asking staff to help out over the busy December-January period.

Qantas has called for staff to volunteer over the holiday period.

Qantas has come under social media fire for asking staff to volunteer their time to help out over the busy December-January period.

The Australian Services Union posted an email from the airlines’ head office, titled “Christmas peak SIT (Sydney International) volunteer initiative 2018”.

“We’re trialling a new volunteer program for our Campus (Mascot) based people who want to lend a hand to the frontline,” said the email.

“We require volunteers to assist the self-service check in and auto bag drop area, bussing gates, concourse arrivals hall and at the transfer desk.

“The roles allocated to volunteers will depend on their preferences, skill set and security requirements.”

The Qantas document calling for volunteers.

A table of roles then detailed the jobs and level of security clearance needed.

A Qantas spokesman confirmed the authenticity of the email and said it was not about cutting costs but “spreading a bit of Christmas cheer during a really busy period”.

“We always scale up with additional paid staff over the peak holiday period,” he said.

“And we also ask head office employees if they’d like to lend a hand, which is a mix of their own time and company time.”

He said it was typically executives who volunteered because it was a chance for them to spend more time on the frontline.

“Volunteer tasks include handing out bottles of water and Christmas chocolates to passengers at airports and helping people find their way around the terminal,” the spokesman said.

ASU NSW branch secretary Natalie Lang said it was incredible to think that charities and community organisations who provided services for the homeless and disadvantaged at Christmas would be competing with Qantas for volunteers.

“It’s not like Qantas is setting up a food kitchen at the international terminal and helping to feed the hungry,” Ms Lang said. “It’s lining its own pockets and asking staff to help them do that for free.”

She said the ASU was calling on Mr Joyce to withdraw the request and ensure that any staff who worked for Qantas over the Christmas period were paid.

“The other thing is the jobs they want volunteers to do is skilled work. Customer service is skilled work especially at such a busy time of year when emotions and tensions can run high,” said Ms Lang.

“There are people employed by Qantas to do that work and the idea you can package that up as a volunteer shift is disrespectful to the people who perform those roles.”

The Qantas Group made a record profit in the 2018 financial year, of $1.6 billion, and paid chief executive Alan Joyce more than $10m.

The ASU described the call for volunteers as “corporate greed” and “wage theft” following the Qantas Group’s record underlying before tax profit of $1.6 billion, and Alan Joyce’s $10 million salary.

The post on the union’s Facebook and twitter feeds attracted a strong reaction from followers, some of whom asked if it was a joke.

“Definitely not #spiritofaustralia behaviour,” said one.

“This makes my blood boil. Everything wrong with the corporate world in one memo,” said another.

The Qantas spokesman said it was unfortunate the ASU was trying to turn the call for volunteers into a negative.

“It’s all hands on deck at this time of year and we’re really grateful that some head office staff are willing to lend a hand,” he said.