One thing is for certain this time round. They can no longer frighten us with story’s (sic) of impending doom if we vote NO. It’s gonna have to be pretty good.
Qantas need a new fleet.
They are acutely aware of the global shortage, hence they have established a local 'stalking horse' in Western Australia.
They have quietly got their 'Skilled Shortage' visas. They have a 'stream lead' who is tasked with setting up the pilot academy and we are told the academy will send 'graduates' where the company wants.
Caveat Emptor
That the union involved offered various 'assurances' to management (and not the other way around) and did not appear to be aware of the positioning in Canberra, would strongly suggest that the union does not understand how
large the shortage is, its genesis and more importantly
how to leverage it.
As we understand it, presently there is a Qantas Domestic pilot contract negotiation underway. The company expects to extract substantial savings to be extracted
and is confident of achieving this.
Firstly, LH negotiations haven’t even begun and it normally takes a while to get down to actual pay numbers.
Secondly, that could well be Qantas’ first offer but that’s where the negotiations start not finish.
Given Qantas have already gone out and told everyone who will listen about Project Sunrise and their desire to order an aircraft in 2019 for delivery in 2022, that puts AIPA in a strong negotiating position. (That and the fact we are making billion dollar plus profits, very different from 4 years ago).
This is not a criticism of anybody, but rather perhaps it is better to wait and see how well your Domestic agreement is advanced, before assuming,
DESPITE QANTAS NEEDING A NEW FLEET, that the union is in a strong position to lever a deal that values the skill set your Qantas pilots possess, and the increasing amount of remuneration that skill set is now attracting worldwide.