BNEA320, how on earth can you suggest that a company paying its staff is "wasting" its money?
These staff agreed to a pay freeze that will save Qantas 4.5% from their wage bill every year going forward. A 5%, one-off bonus is a small impost by comparison.
In a year when Qantas stands to make close to a billion dollars profit, management will be collecting significant performance bonuses and staff engagement is still battered from massive layoffs and a pay freeze, surely a gesture of good faith towards your staff is a (rare) sign of good management.
You want to see what it means for an airline to "waste" it's money, go read the thread about Jetstar Hong Kong!