TWU ties support for Virgin-Qatar deal to Hrdlicka’s replacement

A powerful union is offering ‘conditional’ support for the Virgin-Qatar deal in an apparent bid to exert its influence over Jayne Hrdlicka’s replacement.

The Transport Workers Union is offering “conditional” support for the proposed deal between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways in an effort to exert influence over Jayne Hrdlicka’s replacement.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced last Friday a decision to grant interim authorisation to the deal which will see Virgin’s return to long haul international flying with Qatar Airways aircraft and crew, in what’s known as a wet lease.

The ACCC’s authorisation means Virgin Australia can start selling tickets on the flights to Doha, due to begin in June 2025.

In a letter to Virgin Australia, the TWU indicated its support for the deal but warned that would change if former Qantas executive Paul Jones was appointed CEO.

Mr Jones has previously been named as a frontrunner in the race to replace Ms Hrdlicka, who announced her transition from the role of CEO in February.

The TWU’s opposition to Mr Jones, stems from the union’s bitter battle with Qantas over the airline’s illegal outsourcing of ground handlers in 2020.

Mr Jones was found to be one of the Qantas executives who was motivated by unlawful decisions for the outsourcing, namely a desire to avoid industrial action by the heavily unionised ground handling workforce.

Virgin Australia chief customer and digital officer Paul Jones.

When he was first named as a contender for the top job at Virgin where he holds the position of chief customer and digital officer, the TWU warned it was alarmed by such a prospect.

“Virgin Australia has a strong history of valuing workers. Staff felt that the crucial role they played for the airline was recognised, and were loyal in return,” wrote Mr Kaine in June.

“This has deteriorated recently and needs to be repaired. In our view, this would not be possible with Paul Jones as CEO.”

It was unclear if the letter from the TWU had deterred Virgin’s owners from appointing Mr Jones, however six months later, no replacement has been named for Ms Hrdlicka.

Neither Virgin’s owners Bain Capital nor Ms Hrdlicka have been willing to put a date on her departure which was announced suddenly in February at a difficult time for the airline.

Since then Ms Hrdlicka has overseen an improvement in Virgin’s operational performance, secured new enterprise agreements with pilots and delivered a healthy annual profit.

The deal with Qatar Airways was expected to be her farewell gift but it remains subject to final ACCC and Foreign Investment Review Board approval

Unions have given a mixed response, with the Flight Attendants Association of Australia strongly opposed to the open-ended wet lease arrangement, and the Australian Federation of Air Pilots supportive on the condition an end date is defined for the use of foreign crews.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine. Picture: John Appleyard

The TWU has made no submission to the ACCC but national secretary Michael Kaine said it was crucial Virgin make clear commitments around matters of concern to workers.

“TWU members are ready to work with Virgin and Bain to maximise those opportunities, initially through secondments and looking towards dry lease arrangements and further expansion, as well as the opportunity to action further insourcing in Virgin ground crew,” said Mr Kaine.

“At the same time we have to be realistic about the substantial concerns workers and the travelling public have given Qatar’s track record with human rights and worker abuses. There need to be appropriate guardrails in place to make sure workers are consulted and protected throughout this process.”

He said it was positive that Virgin had met with TWU delegates to “immediately talk through these issues in what is an uncertain time for workers”.

“We need to see Virgin make commitments to ensure positive outcomes from these arrangements with Virgin,” said Mr Kaine.

As well as ground handlers at Virgin, the TWU represented a percentage of the airline’s pilots.

The ACCC was expected to deliver a draft determination on the Virgin-Qatar partnership early next year before a final decision in March or April.