Qantas

PIA scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday 12 November 2025) - WITHDRAWN

Please be advised that today we have withdrawn the two additional industrial actions scheduled to commence tomorrow (Wednesday 12 November 2025).

The two additional protected industrial actions which were due to commence tomorrow were:

1. A ban on engaging in duty travel unless a business class seat is provided to the employee for the purposes of that duty travel.
   
   
2. A ban on departing from home base in an aircraft with an MEL or CDL applied.

All EFA pilots are advised not to commence the above bans tomorrow.

We have withdrawn the actions because:

1. The Company has reached out to the unions with an offer to plan and roster the Pilot representatives to attend an urgent EA bargaining meeting next week (Tuesday 18 November 2025); and
   
   
2. The Company has agreed to hold off on releasing its proposed agreement for access and a vote if we withdraw the two actions and instead have the urgent EA bargaining meeting.
   We remain hopeful that satisfactory progress can be made next week. 
   
   

We have also noted the Company’s recent assertion that the proposed actions would not be protected and “expose pilots to disciplinary action” and other as yet unspecified “significant consequences”. While we do not agree and make no admission that the above actions would be unprotected, we will consider lodging a new protected industrial action ballot application and, if necessary, consider our other forms of protected actions if the outcome of the bargaining meeting on 18 November does not achieve an acceptable position on the main outstanding items.

We will however focus our energies on continuing to achieve a fair agreement capable of being supported by a majority of EFA pilots. This is and has always been our goal and following a meeting with pilot representatives this morning we have decided on the above course of action.

Pilots should also note that our application to terminate the current agreement is proceeding and that the other low level forms of protected industrial action (PIA) are still in force as follows:

1. A ban on working on the following days as scheduled in the pilots’ initially published roster:
   
   - rostered days off;
   - non-work days for part time employees;
   - annual leave days; and
   - long service leave days.
   
   
2. A ban on being contactable by EFA unless on a rostered duty or during a reserve period. This includes that a pilot will not answer phone calls, acknowledge texts, acknowledge updates to their roster, acknowledge emails or respond to any other form of communication unless they are on a rostered duty or in a designated reserve period.
   
   
3. A ban on signing on within 120 minutes of being called in off a reserve period.
   
   
4. A ban on reporting and/or performing any work duties before the scheduled sign-on time for a duty.

We ask that all members continue to enact the above PIA.

In other developments, recently Qantas released details of a proposed agreement (agreed in-principle) at Qantas Long Haul which contains salaries and conditions for A330 pilots far in excess of anything an A330 pilot at EFA receives. By way of example, the minimum guaranteed salary (known as MGH) for a Year 1 A330 Captain at Qantas is proposed to be $382,751 as of 1 July 2026. This is the minimum a Year 1 A330 Captain at Qantas will receive under the current proposal. In reality, pilots in this classification will receive a much higher salary depending on their work patterns.

On Friday, Jetstar released details of its offer to pilots on the A320/321. This offer includes 144 days off (12 days off per calendar month) and the following Narrow Body Captain salaries:



Please note that these rates have been rejected by the unions. It is simply the Company’s offer. Clearly Jetstar is offering its A320/321 pilots significantly more than EFA is offering its A321 pilots.

It seems to us that EFA/Qantas have been determined to ensure that EFA pilots remain well and truly “the poor cousins” of their Qantas group colleagues flying the same aircraft. During negotiations our aim has been to narrow the gap with our colleagues on the same aircraft type. Unfortunately, it appears to us that currently the gap is continuing to widen. Hopefully this can be addressed at next week’s meeting.

Thank you again for your support as we work to achieve a fair and reasonable agreement at EFA.

We will let you know developments next week and intend to hold another all EFA pilots Teams meeting in the near future.

If you have any questions on the above, please contact us directly or Simon Lutton at the AFAP on mobile: 0419 482 582 or email simon@afap.org.au.

In Unity

Susha Semenikow and Dean McMahon
AFAP EFA Pilot Representatives