Qantas has been taken to court by pilots who claim they’re owed a training allowance

Qantas has been taken to court by 270 of its pilots for allegedly failing to pay a training allowance they claim they’re owed dating back over six years.

Qantas is being pursued in court by pilots for allegedly failing to pay a training allowance over a six-year period.

The Australian and International Pilots Association is representing the 270 pilots in the Federal Court matter, which seeks a reimbursement of the unpaid allowance.

Worth about $172 a fortnight, the standard technical aircrew reimbursement allowance (STACR) was part of the pilots’ enterprise agreement for home study undertaken to transition from short to long-haul operations.

Each transitional course took about four months, meaning each pilot was out of pocket by about $1400.

In the statement of claim filed by AIPA, it was alleged Qantas had contravened several clauses of the long-haul enterprise agreement, and section 50 of the Fair Work Act.

“Each affected pilot has not received STACR and suffered loss in the form of diminished remuneration,” the court statement states.

“Particulars identifying the affected pilots, and of the consequential diminution of their remuneration, will be the subject of further particulars after discovery.”

As well as compensation for the 270 pilots plus interest, AIPA asked the court to impose a penalty on Qantas payable to the association, for its contravention of the Fair Work Act.

Justice Helen Raper referred the matter to mediation, in the hope the two parties could reach a resolution.

It’s understood the pilots regretted the fact the matter had ended up in the Federal Court but were confident of a positive outcome.

AIPA president Tony Lucas said the body was working constructively with Qantas to resolve the issue.

AIPA president Captain Tony Lucas.

A Qantas spokesman indicated it was close to reaching an agreement.

The case comes after Qantas was fined $250,000 by the New South Wales District Court for its treatment of a cleaner as the Covid-19 pandemic grew in early 2020.

Later this month, Qantas will return to the Federal Court for hearings about compensation for 1683 ground workers whose jobs were illegally outsourced more than three years ago.

Mediation between the Transport Workers Union and Qantas, attended by CEO Vanessa Hudson, was unable to reach a resolution.

Ms Hudson recently revealed she was “really disappointed” with the failed mediation, saying Qantas had put a “fair and reasonable offer on the table”.

“A settlement would have been the fastest way for the former employees to have received their compensation but nevertheless the court process to determine that settlement is going to occur (this) month,” she said.

It’s believed the TWU was seeking significantly more compensation for members than what Qantas was prepared to pay, having already shelled out for redundancies.

A financial penalty was also being sought by the TWU for Qantas’s breach of the Fair Work Act in the outsourcing of jobs.

The case went all the way to the High Court, which upheld the original ruling by Federal Court Justice Michael Lee.

Originally published as Qantas has been taken to court by pilots who claim they’re owed a training allowance