Virgin Blue pilots considering strike action

Discontent among 565 Virgin Blue pilots has reached boiling point as they consider calling their first strike since the airline’s inception, over stalled negotiations about pay and working hours.
Talks with airline management are to resume this week after 87 per cent of Virgin pilots rejected a company offer to increase their $156,000 a year salaries — but only if they improved productivity.
The Virgin pay dispute comes at a delicate time for the airline as it is poised to secure new jets worth $2.5 billion and hire 150 more pilots to fly a new international Pacific service.

Management talks with the Virgin pilots union, the Australian Federation of Air Pilots, have dragged on for two years without result. The pilots want past productivity recognised in a new pay deal with the airline.

But Virgin management is understood to want a significant increase in pilots’ flying time — up from 787 hours to 850 hours a year in order to get access to wage increases.

Under the airline’s formula, the pilots’ salaries would increase to a maximum of $168,000 by providing for $184 an hour in overtime pay once pilots passed the 787-hour threshold.

Sources close to airline negotiations told The Australian that the mood among Virgin pilots was similar to the time of the 1989 domestic airlines dispute, which resulted in planes grounded for months and 1600 pilots losing their jobs.

The pilots are expected to play their hand more carefully this time, but are considering industrial action allowed to them under a legal “bargaining period” provided by the Howard Government’s workplace laws.

Virgin’s general manager of public affairs, Heather Jeffrey, said industrial action by pilots had not been raised in discussions so far and the airline was “surprised”.

Ms Jeffrey confirmed that pilots had rejected a five-year enterprise bargaining agreement proposed by the airline and said Virgin was aware they were unhappy.

But the airline hoped for what she described as a “watershed” agreement with its pilots.

About 80 per cent of the Virgin crews are represented by the AFAP, the union that fought for pilots in the 1989 dispute involving the former Australian Airlines and now defunct Ansett.

The overwhelming rejection of Virgin’s pay offer was decided in an online vote of pilots. They are considering industrial action as the next step if negotiations do not make progress.

“If we don’t get somewhere it is likely,” one source said, claiming pilots wanted to improve productivity but the 850 hours sought by Virgin was excessive.

Qantas pilots work more hours, but also earn more — about $190,000 a year.

According to Virgin, the conditions for negotiations have changed because many issues, including new aircraft and the need for more pilots, were not on the drawing board when negotiations began.

The pilots say their bargaining muscle is enhanced by a worldwide pilots shortage, and by the fact that workers in boom industries such as mining receive pay rises of 4.5 per cent or more without trade-offs.