Virgin Australia pilots vote through new pay deal

Virgin Australia pilots have voted through a new enterprise agreement on pay and working conditions after rejecting an earlier offer this year. The new deal, backed by 75% of respondents, will see base salary increases of more than 21% over three years as well as improvements to flexible working. It comes after months of negotiations that eventually saw the Fair Work Commission brought in to help break the deadlock, before a deal was agreed last month. Virgin Australia chief pilot Alex Scamps hailed the “generous increases to pay”, as well as increased flexibility around part time arrangements. “We know both pay and flexibility are really important to our people,” he said. “This outcome is great news for our pilots and recognises our collaborative relationship with both the AFAP and the TWU over the last 15 months of negotiations.” TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine hailed the new deal but warned the company still has a long way to go to “restore worker morale”. “Pilots and many others in the Virgin workforce have stuck by this airline throughout administration and helped get it back into the air,” he said. “Ground crew, cabin crew and pilots have now settled agreements but only after months of negotiations, movements towards industrial action, and assisted bargaining. With a new CEO announcement still to come, it’s time now for owners Bain Capital to get back to listening to its people who’ve delivered strong profit results for the airline. We will push to ensure the proposed Qatar stake presents career opportunities for pilots but there are still question marks around what it will mean for the workforce and its culture, with concerns particularly from cabin crew around the airline’s track record with workers.”<br/>