THE SILENT REVIEW_WINTER EDITION 2021_WEB

MESSAGE FROM THE
SECRETARY
By Teri O’Toole – Federal Secretary
In this edition of our cabin crew magazine, we draw your attention to
EBA 11 negotiations for Qantas International cabin crew.
Airlines should not be using the Covid-19 pandemic to
attack your EBA conditions. History is repeating itself where
the only group to benefit are management. Whether it
was the GFC or oil prices, there was always something the
company would use to seek the sympathy of its employees.
Don’t fall for the company crying poor!
We have experienced several wage freezes over the years
with the company going on to make record profits! Let’s
not forget the $2000 “bogus bonus” you are still waiting
for. Some of you, now associate members, will never see
the “bogus bonus”, yet contributed to the $2 billion dollar
profit. Having taken VR, you will never see that bonus, even
though the money was set aside.
As always, the company will want its front-line workers to fall
on their swords and take a financial hit! Let’s face it, flying
will eventually come back and people will be desperate to
get on planes, ultimately resulting in the company making
record profits very quickly. Only recently, EOFY June 2021,
we witnessed Qantas Domestic recording a profit.
The FAAA are here to represent your interests. This is the
time when all crew need to stick together to achieve the
best outcomes for everyone and their future. Whilst it may
seem that only one work group is under siege, this is not
true. Any changes to Part 1 will make the company millions
and will forfeit the benchmark of what Part 2 crew can
get to. These benchmark conditions are years of tough
negotiations, which we need to hang onto. EBA10 saw the
new FAAA team gain conditions for Part 2 without losing
anything for Part 1.
The standard of hotels, your allowances, your rest times,
the hours you work per month and the pay you receive are
all up for grabs. There needs to be significant negotiating
around these items. Members need to take time and
understand what is being offered, to understand you have
rights in the bargaining process and not rush into anything.
Consideration must be given that any changes will impact
your career which may span for the next 10-20 years.
We believe the company thinks you will be so desperate to
get back to the job you love, that you will agree to anything.
The worst thing you can do is blindly agree to conditions
that will have a huge impact on your future when flying
and the world is back to normal. We are here to negotiate
the best deal possible, reveal the truth and pull back the
veil on what the company will say. We know what you are
WORTH and require your support to ensure that you are
treated fairly as professionals. Remember, you can love your
job and career, however you must also stand up and unite
with your colleagues to get what you deserve.
The FAAA has always assisted the company in tough
times but we will not allow for permanent changes to your
conditions based on a temporary crisis we know will come
to an end. We do not believe these international border
closures will continue forever and we can already see the
world is slowly starting to open back up.
You have all waited patiently and helped out where possible
with repatriation and bubble flying. Many have also been
forced into other jobs in order to keep your homes and
possessions. You have done it tough! Loyal cabin crew have
already suffered more than can be explained and YOU can
NEVER recover losses of the last 17 months.
Soon we will be issuing a FAAA members survey which
will form the basis of our negotiating. Anyone who is not
a member will not be able to complete the survey and
therefore not have a voice, hence the importance of being a
FAAA member.
I wish everyone well and even though many of our staff are
working remotely during lock downs, we are still available
to help so do not hesitate to contact us as normal.
Best wishes and stay connected with each other.
4 WINTER EDITION 2021