Qantas uniforms under review as union demands overhaul

The airline has been asked to reconsider if heels and hosiery are necessary for female workers, and allow employees to display preferred pronouns on name tags.

The Australian Services Union wants more flexibility in the uniform requirements for Qantas cabin crew.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has been asked to make changes to the airline’s uniform policy such as easing the requirement for frontline female employees to wear make up, stockings and heels and allowing staff to display their pronouns on name tags.

The Australian Services Union shared the letter it wrote to Mr Joyce on social media, pointing out that in the month of Mardi Gras and International Women’s Day, it was timely to rethink the uniform policy.

“Qantas is a major partner of Sydney Mardi Gras, and you personally have a role as a ‘champion of change’,” wrote ASU assistant national secretary Emeline Gaske.

“We think it’s time the uniform requirements Qantas has of its employees reflect these commitments.”

Among the changes sought by the ASU, were an easing of make-up requirements for women, and that female customer service staff be allowed to wear low heel shoes including loafers with any of their uniforms, not just trousers.

“While airline uniforms have come a long way since the days of miniskirts and towering heels, we think there’s still a long way to go,” said Ms Gaske.

She urged Mr Joyce to “consider whether heels and hosiery are still necessary at all” and asked that female employees be allowed to wear watches with large faces if they wanted.

“We think women can handle the same size watch face as men if we choose,” she said.

“Allow Qantas badges to display preferred pronouns; remove gender-based uniform requirements; allow employees to wear beards and explicitly allow for culturally inclusive dress and grooming.”

A Qantas spokesperson said the ASU was aware they were working on a review of the uniform guide with a view to updating it in coming months.

“We regularly review our uniform guide and have previously made amendments based on feedback from our people,” said the spokesperson.

“Qantas is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in all parts of our business.”

The Flight Attendants Association of Australia was aware of the ASU’s approach to Mr Joyce and described the requested changes as “a noble cause”.

But FAAA national secretary Teri O’Toole said her immediate priority was the dispute over a new agreement for international cabin crew and ensuring members not forced onto a lesser award.

“We absolutely appreciate where the ASU is coming from but our focus at this time is the international cabin crew agreement,” said FAAA national secretary Teri O’Toole.

The union reached a truce with Qantas last week to allow cabin crew to vote again on a new enterprise deal that the airline said was essential to the operation of international services.

Flight attendants previously rejected the offer, prompting Qantas to seek to have their existing agreement terminated and employees forced on to the “modern award”.

A second vote is expected to be held within weeks after Qantas agreed to make some slight tweaks to the offer which would allow for more flexible rostering arrangements.