Qantas has announced that 19,000 employees will be receiving a one-off $ 5,000 bonus.
The payment will not be eligible for senior management or executives and it will come on top of a two per cent pay rise previously promised to employees.
The airline says that the payments will be made to staff after a new enterprise agreement is finalised.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce said the bonus ‘recognizes the great work they are doing as we restart the airline’.
‘This comes at a time when travel demand is rebounding but our people are facing a unique set of cost-of-living pressures, which frankly they’d be in a better position to handle if aviation hadn’t been so badly hit over the past two years. That’s now changing, ‘he said.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (pictured) has announced a 19,000 bonus for more than 19,000 staff
‘We can’t afford to permanently increase salaries beyond the 2 per cent threshold we’ve set, but we can afford to make this one-off payment on top of the Qantas share rights we’ve already given.’
Disgruntled workers recently revealed to Daily Mail Australia what it’s really like to work for the Flying Kangaroo, levelling extraordinary allegations against the airline amid a bitter court battle that could result in a multi-million dollar payout.
The Transport Workers Union took Qantas to court in late 2020, when it was ruled the airline illegally sacked nearly 2,000 baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff before outsourcing their jobs to foreign-owned providers, including Swissport.
The trickle-down effect has seen jaded customers, including Frequent Flyer members, saying they are looking to other airlines when flying.
The Trade Workers’ Union says Qantas’s issues start at the top, and point to Alan Joyce’s mismanagement of the airline over the pandemic and its thousands of laid-off staff.
‘The fish rots from the head. The short-term focus of senior management on boosting profits to see share price blips has devastated Qantas ‘once trusted service and left Australians outraged,’ TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine told Daily Mail Australia.
The $ 5,000 payment will not be eligible for senior management or executives
Customers say there is a complete lack of support staff at airports which is leading to massive delays, missed flights and lost luggage
‘Blaming passengers for delays over the Easter long-weekend while refusing to reinstate the highly trained workers it illegally sacked despite there being obvious demand for experienced workers in the industry shows how out-of-touch the Joyce-led management team has become.’
Many loyal Qantas customers have expressed their displeasure with the airline on social media, claiming it has moved away from its historically high standards – with one woman writing a brutal open letter to the ‘mean spirit of Australia’.
‘Maybe instead of spending money on glossy new ads filled with Aussie talent, you perhaps could do the bare minimum and answer the phone when your customers need assistance?’ Dr Sara Marzouk wrote.
‘Maybe you can invest in providing jobs onshore by establishing call centers where the staff actually have a clue about what they can and cannot do?
‘Stop blaming this on COVID. These issues of poor customer service pre-dated the pandemic but have been exacerbated by them. No other airline has shown such contempt.
‘You need to do better.’
More to come.
‘You need to do better’: Dr Sara Marzouk’s BRUTAL letter to Qantas
Hey Qantas
My name is Sara.
I’m one of the many many MANY Australians who are pretty frustrated with you at the moment.
Thankfully, I’m not in the situation that my close friend finds herself in, where you’ve canceled her flight at short notice and she’s stressed out of her mind trying to contact you to sort this out before her flight next week.
Nor am I in the position where you’ve charged me for flights that you haven’t ticketed, despite those flights being imminent.
Nor am I one of the unlucky ones who have found that you’ve rebooked them onto different flights and different cabin classes without any prior notice and without any consideration for the fact that such changes cause them to miss connecting flights.
No, I’m just one of the long line of customers who have been double charged for flights or other services purchased through your website. Some of whom are unable to pay for other bills because your double-charging has resulted in an inability to honor other expenses.
Dr Sara Marzouk (pictured) unleashed on Qantas in a furious Facebook post
Unlike the above groups of people, who are desperately waiting on the phone for HOURS for anyone to pick up and help them, I draw the line when I’ve been on hold for over an hour. For three consecutive days.
You see, I have a life to live. And spending it on hold waiting for help from your customer service squad is demoralising. Especially when the call cuts out after waiting for way too long.
So I’ve emailed you.
I’ve Facebook messaged you.
I’ve tweeted a reply to you.
Radio silence.
Here is the issue.
Australians are pretty annoyed right now. I’m one of them.
You’re our national airline. We want to support you.
Our tax dollars contributed to the $ 2 billion dollars of assistance our Government gave you during the pandemic.
Maybe instead of spending money on glossy new ads filled with Aussie talent, you perhaps could do the bare minimum and answer the phone when your customers need assistance?
Maybe you can invest in providing jobs onshore by establishing call centers where the staff actually have a clue about what they can and cannot do?
Stop blaming this on COVID. These issues of poor customer service pre-dated the pandemic but have been exacerbated by them. No other airline has shown such contempt.
You need to do better.
– Sara