I'm a Sunstate FO and i think the proposed EBA is a disgrace. It is disgraceful to be undercutting Eastern in such a way. Why is it that as a pilot group we can be so stupid. Oldmeadow must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Gissing mentioned once in a group telephone conference that the "honeymoon" period of 2008-2013 was now over. Point taken, mining has declined, but if we were in the "honeymoon" period, aka the best Qlink is ever going to be, then how the hell is it that all we could manage was a 3% pay increase and a ****ty retention bonus that does nothing for our base pay whilst working harder?
Some of you are thinking "yeah but we cant ask for too much there is a balance, we don't want to go too far or we'll be all out work" Good point, but I'll quote Gissing in recent roadshow meeting-
"Although we don't disclose exactly how much Qlink makes, I can say the out of the Qantas Domestic profit of 220M, we don't make up the majority but we do come close to it". So basically he said we are just under 50% of that, say 100M profit. Sounds to me like things aren't as bad as what they will have you all believe.
I've always wondered why we as a pilot group have managed to stuff this up for so long but now i'm starting realise why. I ask many captains on the line what they think of the current EBA, trying to have a basic discussion, and 80% of the time i get a response which is borderline retarded. Mostly i get an answer of-
"I haven't really been following it, not sure".
My reply "Have you been reading the EBA updates, have u been following Eastern's progress, do you know where each negotiation is at"?
Their reply "No i have no idea about where Eastern is at and i dont care".
OR
"I dont like to get involved in EBA stuff, its all too political, i think our current deal is ok"
Yep the current deal is ok if you are a 10 year captain living in sunny cairns, with stuff all living expenses. But we must remember that its alot more difficult living in sydney or melbourne and we must stay strong with out Eastern counterparts. I really feel for Eastern on this, I cannot believe how badly we treat them when it comes to EBA time. We must show the company that we are united and only then will progress be made.
Final point- The sunstate team will try to tell us we are better of under this agreement. Bull****! My calculations have me earning the same as what i would have under the old agreement had there been no pay freeze. On top of this i will be working harder. Also i will be slapped with a command bond of $25,000. So taking into account inflation and the like, i'm actually taking a further pay cut, but that's not what they will have you believe at the upcoming roadshows. I really hope the the pilot group will vote no to this and show some unity with Eastern. In the eyes of the company we all like like a complete bunch of muppets. Rant over.