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More than 750 Qantas labour-hire cabin crew members will receive pay rises of up to $20,000.
The agreements with labour hire firms Qantas Domestic, Maurice Alexander Management (MAM), and Altara will see their domestic cabin crews receive the same wages as directly-employed Qantas cabin crew, under the Albanese government’s Same Job, Same Pay (SJSP) legislation.
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Qantas Domestic cabin crew will see their base pay packets increase by up to $20,000 per year, while MAM and Altara casual employees will earn an extra 32 to 42.5 per cent in hourly pay, excluding allowances.
The Flight Attendants Association of Australia (FAAA) welcomed the result and thanked the three companies for working with the union instead of opposing the applications.
“This result demonstrates what can be achieved when companies like Qantas sit down and work with their employees. Qantas has shown that big business can lead the way and do things better, and we welcome the change under Vanessa Hudson’s leadership,” Teri O’Toole, national secretary of the FAAA, said.
“Same Job Same Pay is a testament to the hard work of the Albanese Labor Government and key independents who supported fairness and equity in the workplace.
“This legislation has changed the lives of working cabin crew, particularly those employed by the Qantas Group. Some of these crew will no longer need three jobs to make ends meet and put a roof over the heads of their families.”
Allowances will increase starting next month, with full base pay increases coming into effect on 14 July for Qantas Domestic and 11 August for MAM and Altara. Employees at all three firms will be back paid to November last year.
According to Qantas, the gross impact of SJSP, as well as changes to long-haul cabin crew agreements, will be approximately $65 million in the 2025 financial year, with plans to offset this through cost savings and revenue programs.
“This is another important step following our announcement in August 2024 that we would support the FAAA’s three Same Job Same Pay applications for our short-haul cabin crew,” a spokesperson said.
“Our cabin crew deliver fantastic service to our customers and we’re committed to meeting the requirements of the legislation while ensuring that our business is sustainable for the long term.”
The news follows successful SJSP negotiations for around 1,500 Jetstar labour-hire workers in December.
Under the in-principle agreement, cabin crew at Altara and Team Jetstar who work with directly-hired crew will see an average annual pay increase of $7,128 and $7,025 respectively, with Altara workers to also be paid for training and given direct employment opportunities at the airline.
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says:I am in the position whereby I fully understand and accept the need for cost savings but, I also know that to have two separate groups of employees eg labour hire and company employees doing the same job, eg. Flight Attendant or similar is not in the long-term benefit of the company or the staff involved, – asking for trouble! Pay Rates and Conditions of employment should/are set up as per negotiations prior to the expiration of the existing agreement. Now I also know that this where serious trouble can occur! – Seemingly over the top wage claims are creating huge pressures on employers generally resulting from other non-staffing cost increases so sooner rather than later, the consumer/customer is likely to avoid buying or downgrading the intended purchase with obvious consequences for the enterprise concerned. Just because a company has a bumper financial year can’t be the catalyst for a pay rise of the equivalent % rate, there may be a need for the company to expend vast amounts of monies on refurbishment/upgrading/renewal of income producing equipment and this should be considered by all parties at the negotiation stages. The easy bit is recognising it, the hard bit is doing it. Been there…..
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says:Ah! The joy of the Joyce legacies!!! Two sets of staffing doing the same job @ different rates of pay was truly asking for trouble in the long run. I now hope that M/s Hudson & the Board can begin to rectify all of these anomalies left behind by Mr. Joyce.
John Sainsbury – Albury
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says:Happy Flight Attendant’s equals happy customers….pretty simple I’d say..they spend the most time with your Customers and can make a wonderful trip or a horror trip.