More Qantas pay disputes hinted in union’s annual wage review submission

The Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia (FAAA) made a submission to the Fair Work Commission in the annual wage review, seeking a 5 per cent wage increase for cabin crew workers – receiving a counterargument from Qantas.

Qantas continues to be dragged into pay negotiations, with the latest hint at a new skirmish coming in the form of the FAAA’s submission to the 2025 annual wage review conducted by the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

The review – which welcomes submissions from varying workplace stakeholders – has been hotly contested, with unions and employer groups verbally sparring over their proposed changes to Australia’s minimum wage.

As previously reported by HR Leader, in its first submission on 3 April, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) tabled a submission calling for a 4.5 per cent wage boost to the minimum wage – an increase from the 3.75 per cent increase that was introduced last year.

In its reply submission tabled on 2 May, the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) labelled the ACTU’s proposal as “reckless”, with chief executive of Ai Group Innes Willox instead proposing a 2.6 per cent increase.

“Our economy is in a fragile position, coming out of the weakest year of growth in three decades,” said Willox.

“Private sector output, employment, investment and financial performance have deteriorated, while the economy has become reliant on government spending to prop up performance. Productivity has unfortunately continued to slide and remains well below long-term trend.”

“The Expert Panel should take a cautious and considered approach to adopt a rise of not more than 2.6 per cent, reflecting the challenging economic situation facing Australia and the world.”

Among the squabbles between unions and employer groups alike over the minimum wage changes, the FAAA submitted a key request during the annual wage review proceedings, calling for a 5 per cent wage increase for cabin crew under the Aircraft Cabin Crew Award 2020 (ACC Award) – in addition to the standard annual wage adjustment.

Qantas filed a reply submission a month later, claiming that the annual wage review was not the correct forum for award-specific increases, arguing that the FAAA’s submission should be dealt with in a separate application.

According to Qantas’ own submission, it currently employs 6,800 cabin crew in Australia – making it the largest cabin crew employer in the country.

The union undertook a similar attempt in the previous review, seeking a 2 per cent increase, but it was denied by the commission, which opted for a research project into the justifications for the wage increase.

The FAAA plans to make a separate application for a Work Value Case, focusing on a number of ACC Award matters. Qantas argued that due to this impending case, “there is no basis (or capacity)” for the commission to make a decision on the ACC as part of the wide annual wage review.

Recently, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) secured pay rises for Qantas Freight workers under “same job, same pay” legislation, scoring annual pay increases of around $5,000, with some workers receiving up to $8,000. Before that, over 750 Qantas labour-hire cabin crew members received pay rises of up to $20,000 under the legislation.