Qantas ‘Grinch act’ asks staff to work extra hours for free over Christmas

Qantas has faced heavy criticism after the airline sent an email to staff asking them to volunteer time at the airport during its busiest period over Christmas. The Australian Services Union (ASU) has described the carrier as a “disgrace” and accused it of “wage theft at Christmas”. In the email to head office staff, which was leaked on Friday, the airline asked workers to volunteer to “lend a hand” during the holiday period. “To support our airport teams at [Sydney] over the 2018 peak Christmas travel period, we’re trialling a new volunteer programme for our Campus-based people who’d like to lend a hand to the frontline in December and January,” the email said. “We require volunteers to assist at the self-service check-ins and auto bag drop area, busing gates, concourse arrivals hall and at the transfer desk. The roles allocated to volunteers will depend on their preferences, skill set and security requirements.” Qantas denied the programme was aimed at cutting costs, saying in a statement it was about “spreading a bit of Christmas cheer during a really busy period”. “We always scale up with additional paid staff over the peak holiday period. And we also asked head office employees if they’d like to lend a hand,” it said. But the New South Wales secretary of the ASU, Natalie Lang, accused the airline of displaying “shocking corporate greed” and a “Grinch act”.<br/>