ALAEA members have recently contacted the Association in relation to the current offer from Qantas for a new wage Agreement titled Qantas Airways Limited (AWU, AMWU, CEPU) Enterprise Agreement 9. The ALAEA have been locked out of these discussions for legal reasons and cannot represent our members directly or indirectly. We can give advice and next week, when voting commences, you will be able to express your views by telling the company that the offer on the table is unacceptable.
Background
Traditionally the AME Agreements are negotiated 12 months after the LAME Agreements. Because LAMEs tend to have more industrial influence over the airline due to their licences, outcomes in recent times have generally been won by LAMEs through disputes; such as those in 2008 and 2011. After the LAME Agreements are settled, the same wage rises (a combination of level increases and percentage-based pay rises) are also applied to AMEs, Workshop Engineers and Trades Assistants. The other group covered by the AME Agreement are some Technical and Supervisory staff who have always been seen by the airline as compliant, second class citizens and hence the airline haven’t even applied the same combination of level and percentage-based rises to that classification.
To break this cycle, Qantas have concocted a plan to remove the ability for LAMEs to fight for those extra increases that have traditionally flowed on to the AME groups. It involves the manipulation of the new A licence personnel who are classed as LAMEs by CASA but are conveniently being called “unlicensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers with a licence” so they can be covered by this new AME Agreement. The Agreements are deliberately offset so that when B1/B2 LAMEs are fighting to get us all fair wage outcomes, the A licenced LAMEs will be used by the airline as strike-breakers to take away our ability to win any dispute.
If this offer is accepted, the future ability of any of us to achieve fair wage outcomes or job security will be taken away. This will have a demonstrative impact on LAMEs, AMEs, Workshop Engineers and Trades Assistants. We recommend that you look past the initial carrot and consider the future impact of this offer and reject it entirely. You are already deserving of the base wage increases on offer as they were the same ones that applied to LAMEs. With AME wages so low we would have expected the increase in percentage terms to be higher than what they have offered. This outcome will only see the difference between AME and LAME wages widen further.
Career Ending Decision
We appreciate that many people to be covered by this Agreement may not wish to be B1 or B2 LAMEs. The negative impact for you is explained above. In summary the ability for us to fight for better wages and conditions that have always applied to you will be taken away as this offer creates a pool of strike-breakers.
For those who do wish to attain further qualifications, acceptance of this offer will end your ability to become a B classified LAME and your future wage earnings will be severely restricted. If this Agreement is accepted, A licenced LAMEs will be able to certify for 90% of the Line Maintenance tasks that B LAMEs do. There will be no need for Qantas to offer you full training courses and we do not expect them to validate self-training you may wish to do to attain a B1 or B2 licence.
The current LAME Agreement (WD 2012) can and should be used as the wage Agreement for A licences. This offer is being made to prevent you accessing the LAME Agreement and payments. Not only is it well short of the amount you should receive as a base rate LAME, they are not offering progression through the LAME pay structure for years of service and you will not receive the normal pay rises entitled to LAMEs as they become licenced on a multiple number of aircraft. The difference between getting paid under the LAME Agreement and the proposed Agreement is outlined below.
Currently the LAME wage Agreement should be used as A licence holders are LAMEs (as defined by CASA) and they will hold ratings on various aircraft. Whether you are an Aircraft Worker/Trades Assistant who obtains a Cat A licence or an AME with one, provision is currently available to pay you under the existing LAME Agreement as per the 4th column of the table below.
The third column is what Qantas wants to pay a Level 14 Mechanical AME holding an A licence if you accept their offer based on him/her holding the highest A licence payment of $115 per week. The second column is for a Trades Assistant on the top Level 7 with the lower A licence level of $70 per week. An example of an Aircraft Worker/Trades Assistant in this role could be one working, and certifying for tasks carried out, in the cabin.
Lvl 7 T/A holding first level A licence (current offer) - always $50,596
Lvl 14 AME holding A licence(current offer) - always $69,888
Paid under the existing LAME Agreement - $73,216 upwards
1st A licence (738)$50,596........ $69,888......... $73,216
2nd A licence (767)$50,596.........$69,888.........$77,948
4 years as LAME $50,596.............$69,888.........$82,680
3rd A licence (744)$50,596...........$69,888........$87,360
4th A licence (A330)$50,596..........$69,888.......$92,144
7 years as LAME$50,596.................$69,888......$97,032
5th A licence (A380)$50,596............$69,888......$109,356
The table clearly demonstrates the reason why the company want you to accept this offer. Of course the difference between what you should be earning and what they want you to earn is greater when shift penalties are added. The table shows that the maximum you could ever earn as a Mechanical LAME will be permanently capped at $69,888 (subject to CPI adjustments).
The offer does not specify that the training would go to trade-qualified AMEs, it will allow the company to train Trades Assistants as A licence LAMEs and still pay them at existing T/A rates with the A licence allowance. The $70-$115 A licence allowances do not increase with wage increases and, unlike the A licence Agreement at Virgin, there is no obligation for the company to offer full B training after two years as A licence-holders; in fact there is no obligation to ever provide B training.
Because of the way the Agreement has been written (with the ability for non-trades people to obtain the A licence) Qantas would no longer need to employ reasonable levels of Apprentices. Instead they could put people on short traineeships and two years later they could become Aircraft Workers/Trades Assistants with A licences on the lower wage levels. This, in turn, will limit career opportunities for existing AMEs to move around to different sections. In the words of Qantas management when discussing this issue with the ALAEA they said – Why would we give A licences to AMEs, they are too valuable.
Tech Salaried Positions within the Agreement
We are unsure why but again the company seems to be forgetting the persons in Technical or Supervisory classifications. Qantas LAMEs and now Qantas AMEs have been given offers of a level (worth 5%), 3%, level (worth 5%) and 3%, the Tech classifications have only been offered 3% each year with a slight adjustment worth 1.5% to those in level 4. The ALAEA considers that all people within Engineering should be valued appropriately and treated equally with regards to pay increases.
Your consideration of a yes or no vote for this agreement is extremely important. Whilst we may not be allowed to represent your interests currently, you can represent yourself by rejecting this offer. The company will be encouraging you to vote yes because they will save money and turn LAMEs working under two separate Agreements against each other as strike-breakers.
This is not about getting back at some current LAME you don’t like, in doing so you will only harm yourself. This is not about protecting the wages of existing LAMEs, they will always be covered by the higher paid LAME Agreement. This is not about securing a few extra dollars now; this is about your entire career. It will be too late in ten years’ time to turn back the clock when you are licenced on every Qantas aircraft and only getting paid the equivalent of $69,888. This company are trying to suck you in today.
All people working within Engineering deserve a better outcome than the one currently on offer. Let the airline know that you weren’t born yesterday by voting NO to this strike-breaking offer.