Qantas loses patience with Network Aviation pilots, heads to Fair Work Commission

The under fire airline will use a new feature of the Fair Work Act in an effort to bring its Network Aviation pilots into line.

Qantas has run out of patience with its Network Aviation pilots, after they voted down three proposed work agreements, including two their unions had backed. 

Network Aviation is Qantas’ Perth-based airline, employing over 250 pilots who operate FIFO and private air charters as well as regular scheduled flights. 

In an effort to finalise their new EBA once and for all, Qantas will make an intractable bargaining application to the Fair Work Commission. 

A new feature of the Fair Work Act, intractable bargaining applications, mean the FWC has the last say on the terms and conditions of employment in cases where parties cannot reach agreement.

It follows 18-months of negotiations which saw pilots stage a 24-hour strike last October.

It’s understood the “last straw” for Qantas was a new list of demands from the pilots, which would have added millions of dollars in costs to the EBA. 

Qantas says it’s already offering an upfront pay increase of more than 25 per cent plus annual 3 per cent increases, new allowances and greater roster protections. 

The Network Aviation pilots who fly A320-200 and Fokker 100s want to be paid on par with Qantas 737 pilots, which would amount to a 50 per cent jump in pay.

Network Aviation chief operating officer Trevor Worgan said they would ask the Fair Work Commission to arbitrate in the hope of reaching a deal. 

Australian Federation of Air Pilots officials were meeting with representatives of Network Aviation on Monday to discuss the development.

Since flying resumed post-Covid-19, 90 per cent of Qantas employees covered by enterprise agreements have signed up for new ones.

The airline has previously been accused of using “strong arm” tactics in negotiating new pay deals with employees.

In 2022 the Flight Attendants Association of Australia said Qantas was “putting a gun to the heads” of cabin crew to sign off on a new deal, while short haul pilots claimed the airline had threatened to outsource their jobs if they did not accept their offer.

Chief executive Vanessa Hudson, who replaced Alan Joyce last September, has vowed to take a more conciliatory approach with unions in the “spirit of co-operation”.

Originally published as Qantas loses patience with Network Aviation pilots, heads to Fair Work Commission