Virgin Australia cabin crew to vote on industrial action

Cabin crew members for Virgin Australia are set to vote on protected industrial action, saying pay and conditions “still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels”.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) said Virgin has delivered “record profits” in recent years, with former owner Bain Capital extracting $2.7 billion from the airline since purchasing it from administration in 2020, and that the firm should “reinvest the profits back into the workforce who helped deliver them”.

It comes after Virgin was forced to slash flights due to cabin crew shortages earlier this year, with flight attendants also calling on the airline to bring in professional cleaning crews to reduce the workload on cabin staff.

“Cabin crew workers are also calling for a reset to their conditions, including fairer rostering arrangements to reduce duty limits pushing them to exhaustion, meaningful progression through pay classifications, and better fatigue protections, including increased minimum rest time,” the union said in a statement.

“The company continues to refuse to commit to fair rostering arrangements to reduce increasingly fatiguing duties, which have reached crisis levels among crew.”

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine pointed to former Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka’s $50 million exit package and the airline’s $501 million profit for the last financial year as proof that Virgin can afford to improve pay and conditions.

“Virgin cabin crew took cuts to their pay and conditions during COVID to get airline through administration, but they are still operating under crisis conditions that have seen them regularly pushed to exhaustion,” he said.

“Now the airline is making bumper profits, Bain is siphoning billions to put in executives’ pockets, and CEOs are walking out the door with $50 million pay cheques. Clearly Bain can also afford to deliver for these workers, who gave up so much to keep the lights on.”

According to Kaine, Virgin “has already proven that when you engage with your workforce, it yields impressive results”.

“Its employee share scheme and successful insourcing show that Virgin can grow a profitable airline while investing in its workers, but there is substantial work to do here to ensure cabin crew can continue to do their vital work,” he said.

“It is time Bain reinvested its record profits back into the workforce that has made them possible, instead of using Virgin as a personal piggy bank.”

Australian Aviation understands the current offer from Virgin includes pay increases between 14 per cent and 29 per cent over three years, as well as weekend loadings, higher allowances, a significant reduction in maximum hours for most duties, and increased rest when crew are away from home.

A Virgin Australia spokesperson said the airline is “disappointed that the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) has chosen to lodge an application for a Protected Action Ballot Order (PABO) in relation to our negotiations”.

“We recognise the important role our cabin crew team members play,” the spokesman said.

“We continue to negotiate with all parties in good faith, and our priority remains finalising an enterprise agreement that recognises and rewards our team members, while supporting the long-term sustainability of the business.”

Virgin ground staff represented by the Australian Services Union (ASU) have also voted on protected action, with the union saying the carrier’s latest enterprise agreement proposal fell “well short” of member expectations.

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