Which Australian Union is Used for F/A?

[SocialFlyer]

Hi Guys,

Just a question to staff from Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin and Eastern, could you please explain to me which union represents flight attendants for your company.... Is it the FAAA for all companies? I'm a little confused as to what the role of the FAAA of Australia is, they appear to only have info on Long Haul when I look at there website.

Any info would help....

Thank You

SocialFlyer

[ditzyboy]

www.faaadomestic.org.au (http://)

Two separate unions merged to form the FAAA. They split into separate divisions (but still the same 'union') not long after due to much angst between the more senior officials.

I hear a possible merger again will happen. Seems a waste to pay two lots of office staff and upkeep two separate locations. Also with the ever growing reach of Qantas Short Haul (A330 and expanded regional international flying) it seems a likely move.

I have just heard that from two people so it's not even a rumour or anything. Just something I heard.

Having said that I think it may possibly shift focus even further from subsideries and regionals. WHICH JUST CANNOT HAPPEN! Perhaps there should still be two divisons of the FAAA. Maybe 'Qantas Proper' and 'Qantas Other and all other airlines'?

[SocialFlyer]

Thanks heaps Ditz, can always rely on you for a quick response......

Take care mate

SocialFlyer

[ozskipper]

Speaking of unions.... Are most F/A's members or is it less common?

[smile]

Having said that I think it may possibly shift focus even further from subsideries and regionals. WHICH JUST CANNOT HAPPEN! Perhaps there should still be two divisons of the FAAA. Maybe 'Qantas Proper' and 'Qantas Other and all other airlines'?

Ditzy, it looks like you may have (unintentionally) hit the nail on the head.

Whilst I still have my membership, and pay my fees, the FAAA is really Qantas's union. And if they have some spare time they will look after the rest of us. I am not saying that our union reps are any less dedicated,(our head union chick is one of the most amazing people I have ever worked with) or that if a member comes to them with a problem it will take a back shelf, but when you look at our EBA it is very disappionting that the only advice we got from the union was 'to sign on the dotted line'.

I really don't blame them either, as membership is VERY low at Virgin, whereas there is a very high level of membership throughout QF and it's bits and pieces. But it would be nice to have a group who are totally dedicated to us.

(anyway my rant is over)

[Cart_tart]

NJS has nearly full membership.
It's fantastic!!!
The FAAA has been BRILLIANT in our latest round of EBA negotiations. They haven't backed down from stopping NJS in trying to give us the crap they think is a good deal (HAH!:mad: ) They kept on fighting for us when NJS refused to bargain any further and we all voted to take industrial action. It got to the point where it came down to the 11th hour and industrial action was about to start and NJS had a "sudden" change of heart. What a surprise! NJS thought we were gutless and wouldn't go through with it but after phone calls from management to FA's to "touch base" they had a rude awakening! We've pretty much got what we wanted minus a few things and the dual pay scale they wanted to bring in has been scrapped.
NJS FA's can't speak highly enough of the FAAA and the reps that have fought so hard over the past 6 months to get us a good deal.
I recommend joining. It is worth the money you pay them. (It's a tax deduction anyway!) They will fight for you and ensure you don't get shafted. Always remember though that they're only as strong as the support they get from their members. So as long as you all stick together when push comes to shove, the union will be there to back you up.
:ok:

[Left2primary]

Ditzyboy,

I think the amalgamation of the FAAA was a mistake for more reasons than just personalities.

The transferees I talk to describe the differences between divisions being so great as to be completely different jobs.

Better I think to have specialist reps in both divisions looking after their own patch.

Having said that, its nice to see a united front being presented to QF re the next round of EBA's.

You seem to be in the know. I'm longhaul and have been trained on the A330. Do your comments mean I'll be flying it domestically?

Oh BTW, are shorthaul being trained in" B First"?

Cheers L2P


Ozskipper,

Longhaul membership of the FAAA I understand is around 95%.
AKL and BKK bases notwithstanding.

[ozskipper]

Thanks for the info....

I'v heard mostly good things about the FAAA so was curious to see if the membership is there....

[Galley Power]

Hey Cart Tart...

Totally agree. I am so happy we're close to 100% membership with the FAAA, and maintained our great award!
The FAAA is so worth it, and its best to all when we stick together to achieve our goal.
By the way, look forward to fly with you... whoever you are!

Job well done :ok:

[SydGirl]

I'd be extremely surprised if the FAAA - LH and FAAA - Domestic/Regional division merged.

Whilst their common goal is to look after flight attendants, they still do completely different things.

There is no way you can compare the job of a FA working on the Dash 8 (Domestic/Regional division) to that of an FA working on the 747 (LH division). Whilst they are both FAs, and have similar responsibilities, they work different hours, serve different products, have different slip times, duty times, working conditions etc. Wouldn't you prefer to be dealing with the FAAA that knows your job?

In addition, the interests and motives of the FAAA are different. LH division is busy looking after the interests of it's LH members, which don't always coincide with those of the SH divisions members! The A330 issue is a prime case in point. Which division does it belong to? Hmmm...

I agree with the poster who mentioned that the FAAA is a union for Qantas. I still recall many a time when I had to call the FAAA for an issue relating to my EBA, only to be told the only rep in the office was from QF.

IMHO the regionals (perhaps NJS excluded) get treated as second best from the FAAA, which is a great shame. The regionals get paid substantially less than their QF counterparts and pay a higher proportion of their wage in FAAA fees. Here's hoping the FAAA wake up and recognise this and give the regional FA's more support.

SG
:}

[str]

The long haul FAAA division is definately worth joining if you fly long haul. The short haul division is a different story, when I flew short haul I never received any help from them and as for the last short haul EBA.....disgusting.....crew were basically forced into voting yes to a substandard EBA by the FAAA reps.

I doubt the two unions would combine, EBA's are totally different. Maybe in the future if the 2 flying divisions merged but at the moment this hampered by CASA as crew in Oz can't be trained on all aircraft types.


L2P - Yes short haul crew have attended a four day B/First course and an 'How to be an international flight attendant' course.....what the?

[sinala1]

Personally I have no faith in the FAAA domestic arm, for many reasons - our last EBA negotiations were a joke, and the integrity of some of the union employees involved has been questioned (with good reason) amongst crew on a regular basis...

[Anna Spanna]

the FAAA is really Qantas's union
Does it not make sense that as the majority of FAAA members are QF employees, they make up the greater percentage of the board? When Ansett was still flying high, the FAAA was considered an 'Ansett Union'. Yes, the FAAA has a majority of QF at the helm, but this does not mean that they are only concerned about the well-being of QF F/A's.

With Virgin and Jet* there are a lot of new flight attendants who don't understand the benefits of the FAAA or understand how the FAAA works.
The FAAA now relys on a airline specific approach, where individual airlines have a say in what happens in their airline. Virgin have their own FAAA delegates as do all other repesented airlines. Whether you be a mainline or regional carrier your delegates make the decisions for your airline.

As it has been said here before, the FAAA is only as strong as it's membership. Ask any of the NJS guys and they will tell you that by having close to 100% they were able to go ahead in leaps and bounds. The more members the FAAA has the better bargaining power when the next EBA comes around (which is soon for many airlines). If you want positive changes in your airline, don't complain about about it in the galley. DO SOMETHING! Talk to your delegates, chances are they feel exactly the same way, after all they work for the same company that you do. If all airlines had 100% membership, there would be no complaining about work issues. Any problems that arose would be quashed with the companies having to bend to the demand of their employees. We need a united approach, for ALL flight attendants. Together we CAN make a difference.