Travellers could be hit with unexpected disruptions as Virgin Australia’s cabin crew and ground workers close in on strike action over claims of “poverty pay” and “unsustainable” conditions.
On Monday, the Virgin cabin crew members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) will apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for a protected action ballot, which, if granted, means they can vote to take industrial action that they have been threatening to do over claims of “poverty pay, job insecurity and unsafe conditions”.
The TWU national secretary, Michael Kaine, said that “Virgin workers above and below the wing have remained loyal, worked hard to rebuild the airline and seen it back into profit” but that its private equity owners Bain Capital “have not held up their end of the bargain to correct rock-bottom pay, improve work-life balance and fix unsafe rostering”.
Kaine said cabin, ground crew and pilot members have “all reported fears of mistakes being made due to their unsustainable working conditions, made worse by high turnover, fatigue-related absenteeism and juggling second or third jobs”.
“We need to see a considerable shift in Virgin’s bargaining approach to ensure a fair, sustainable enterprise agreement offer and avoid last resort strikes.”
If the FWC approves the cabin crew’s application, it means several sections of Virgin’s workforce could be on the cusp of taking industrial action. Ground crew need to provide just three days’ notice before going on strike.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said that since the cabin crew’s agreement expired less than two weeks ago, the airline “has continued to bargain in good faith, and with a clear commitment to relevant unions of our intention to reach an amicable solution on a new agreement”.
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The move from the Virgin cabin crew follows the airline’s ground workers – who are still directly employed by Virgin despite many larger airlines, including Qantas, recently moving to outsource these operations – also gaining approval for a protected action ballot in recent weeks.
Guardian Australia understands that during negotiations with its ground handlers last month, Virgin offered employees at least a 3% pay increases in the first year of the new enterprise agreement – on top of recent award increases – and a further 3% increase in years two and three.
In October, Virgin Australia posted a $129m net profit, the airline’s first in 11 years and since its pandemic-induced period of administration and restructure that saw it pivot away from the premium end of the market and ditch its budget carrier Tigerair.
Now, with new owner Bain Capital understood to be delaying Virgin’s initial public offering – to relist it on the stock exchange – until 2024, TWU members have asked for a $1,000 annual employee share scheme in line with the IPO.
The Virgin spokesperson said: “The TWU taking this move to go to ballot for protected industrial action while negotiations are still progressing both constructively and within reasonable timeframes reflects the changed industrial relations landscape and is now a common part of the early process.”