Jetstar Staff in Australia Begin Industrial Action, Negotiations Scheduled for Monday
11 October, Sydney – Employees of Jetstar, Australia’s leading budget airline, have initiated industrial action to press demands related to wages and employment conditions. Approximately 1,000 customer service and airport staff affiliated with the Australian Services Union (ASU) participated in protected industrial action on 23 and 24 September. While they continued to serve passengers during this period, they took measures such as waiving or recording as zero fees for additional baggage, seat changes, and late fees.
The employees, through their union, have called for wage increases, improved overtime and penalty rates, enhanced leave entitlements, protection against job and position cuts, and better safety measures for staff working under extreme heat and adverse weather conditions. Jetstar has reportedly presented proposals including wage increases, improved penalty payments and allowances, as well as greater roster flexibility. The company stated it has prepared to minimize disruption to flight operations caused by the industrial action.
A negotiation session is scheduled for Monday based on revised proposals. Following the industrial action on 23 and 24 September, Jetstar decided to hold urgent talks with the union. According to the ASU, the company will present a revised offer at the meeting on Monday, 28 September. No further industrial actions have been announced prior to this. The union had previously indicated it might escalate industrial actions if negotiations failed. The next steps by the employees will depend on Monday’s negotiations and the company’s revised offer. Jetstar passengers are advised to check the latest status of their flights via the company’s official website or app. During the prior industrial actions, Jetstar had assured that flight operations would not be significantly affected. Jetstar is a budget airline within the Qantas Group, operating flights across various Australian cities as well as to destinations in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.
