If industrial action commences, it could result in flight delays and cancellations this weekend
Tigerair pilots have given notice that industrial action will commence Friday 4 May, unless a deal is reached through negotiations.
If industrial action goes ahead, it could result in flight delays and cancellations this weekend.
The airline operates routes to all capital cities, as well as multiple tourist destinations throughout Australia.
HRD contacted Tigerair for comment and a spokesperson said the company is currently negotiating a new Enterprise Agreement for pilots with relevant stakeholders, including the AFAP (Australian Federation of Air Pilots) and VIPA (the association for Virgin Australia Group pilots).
“Tigerair continues to negotiate in good faith and looks forward to reaching a mutually beneficial outcome as soon as possible,” said the Tigerair spokesperson.
“Tigerair has plans in place to minimise any disruption to our customers including re-accommodation onto other Tigerair and Virgin Australia services.”
Moreover, Simon Lutton, executive director of the AFAP, said after more than 12 months of negotiations, the decision to take protected industrial action “was not made lightly”.
“Tigerair pilots fly the same aircraft as their counterparts at Jetstar, Virgin and Qantas, however this is not reflected in their employment conditions,” said Lutton.
“The current agreement is well below industry standards, both in terms of pay and work-life balance. Tigerair pilots are simply looking for a fair deal.”
Lutton claimed that Tigerair is not only refusing to provide basic employment conditions that are “standard in the industry”, but they are also insisting on substantial cuts to conditions to justify salary increases.
“We have chosen not to exercise our right to a complete stoppage of work, instead we have limited the actions to not working outside a pilot’s published roster, and not operating an aircraft until all allowable defects have been resolved,” said Lutton.
“Given the possible disruptions, we even provided Tigerair with four days’ more notice than legally required, to put in place contingencies.”
Industrial action is scheduled to commence at 6.00am on Friday 4 May, and will run until 11.59pm on Sunday 6 May.
However, the AFAP said that if Tigerair make a “reasonable offer” before May 2, the AFAP has the option to withdraw these actions.
Tigerair said they will notify customers as soon as possible via SMS/email if there is any disruption.
“Customers are advised to please plan to arrive for flights as scheduled unless otherwise notified by the airline directly. “
