Union pay bid to exploit wall to wall Labor

Powerful unions says the nation’s wall-to-wall Labor governments give it a ‘historic opportunity’ to push for significant pay rises.

TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The Transport Workers Union says wall-to-wall Labor governments across the ­nation give it a “historic opportunity” to push for significant pay rises and better conditions for 10,000 aviation workers.

In a challenge to incoming Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson to “repair the damage” caused under Alan Joyce, TWU national secretary ­Michael Kaine said it was time for a fresh start and to rebuild aviation from the ground up.

“The electoral map is overwhelmingly red, and we have a federal government and governments in five states and two territories who share our goal of creating a better, fairer, more equal Australia,” Mr Kaine said. “This is a historic opportunity.”

In a keynote address to the union’s national council on Tuesday, Mr Kaine will reveal that the union will run a work value case in the Fair Work Commission “to substantially lift pay and conditions” for aviation workers.

The union will also explore award-specific applications to insert new allowances, enhance conditions and provide roster protections.

It said the aviation workers to be impacted included pilots, cabin crew, baggage handlers, refuellers, catering staff and cleaners.

The union estimates in excess of 10,000 workers will be affected. While yet to work out the size of the pay claim, the union believes the work of aviation workers is undervalued.

“Since the Howard government, awards are supposed to be safety nets but now have become the rate that is paid and it’s far too low,” Mr Kaine said.

He said the union would look at pursuing multi-employer bargaining in the future. “We will address the race to the bottom by lifting the floor through aviation award applications, then build on that base through multi-­employer bargaining when the time comes,” he said.

“With a groundswell across Australia and in parliament for fairer wages and job security, we have a unique opportunity to recalibrate the industry, to rebuild aviation around a strong, skilled workforce as its nucleus.

“We will marry up that power with the industrial instruments at our disposal to lift standards root and branch across our airports. We will do everything in our power to achieve this.”

He said “reversing 15 years of cumulative attacks on workers from a callous Qantas management team will take time, but if the TWU is known for anything, it is for our relentlessness”.

“Alan Joyce had the audacity to say airport chaos was the result of the travelling public not being ‘match-fit’. Well, Joyce will soon be gone and the race to rebuild Qantas is on,” he said.

“I can tell you, the TWU is match-fit.”

Mr Kaine said “Workers, the public and politicians are sick to death of the Qantas dictatorship destroying good jobs and service standards in aviation”.

“The desire to fight back is palpable. We will bring together the growing drive for change and all industrial opportunities available to put workers at the heart of the aviation rebuild,” he said.

“We have seen what happens to aviation when skilled, experienced workers are axed. It has shown beyond doubt that essential workers are the beating heart of a healthy aviation industry, and a successful rebuild logically begins with secure airport jobs.”

Mr Kaine said the “overdue” election of a federal Labor government was a “chance for us to save lives in road transport, and it’s a chance for us to lead the rebuild of the aviation sector in a way that supports secure jobs, fairer pay and better conditions for our workforces”.

The union was up against “executives … put excessive profits and lavish awards ahead of secure jobs, fair pay and decent standards”, he said.

“We need to lift standards at airports, (and) end the Joyce-­induced casualisation. Get more people into jobs … that provide a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, jobs that reflect the value of the tough and critical functions performed – and then build and retain that skill and ex­perience in the years ahead.

“So it’s time for a fresh start. It’s encouraging Qantas has a new CEO in Vanessa Hudson and I hope she will work with us to repair the damage Alan Joyce has done over the past 15 years.

“But we won’t wait to find out if she possesses the decency and common sense required to put workers at the centre of the desperately needed reconstruction of Qantas. Workers, passengers and politicians have had enough of aviation being destroyed by unchecked corporate greed.”

He said Employment Minister Tony Burke had committed the Albanese government to give the Fair Work Commission scope to set minimum standards in road transport for a fairer, safer and more sustainable industry.