Conference in the Fair Work Commission
Following on from our previous update regarding the protected action ballot order made by Commissioner Hampton on 24 December 2021, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has now listed a compulsory conference for 2 pm AEDT on Tuesday, 7 January 2025 at the FWC in Melbourne. The conference will be conducted by Commissioner Wilson. All bargaining representatives have been ordered to attend in person.
In preparation for that conference, Commissioner Wilson has issued directions. The main direction affecting the AFAP and its members are that we are to file and serve an outline of the bargaining process to date and the outstanding issues in advance of the conference. This must be provided to the FWC by 4 pm AEDT on Friday, 3 January 2025. We are currently in the process of preparing that material.
There are 2 main areas that remain in dispute between the parties. These are remuneration and rostering.
Remuneration: Skytraders put forward a revised offer to the pilots on 24 December 2024. Although the revised offer is an improvement and takes into account retention of pilots by way of annual payments in addition to CPI increases (but separate to them), feedback from the pilot cohort demonstrates that strong concerns remain regarding the parity between the B350 and C212 fleets, and the rate of the B350 fleet. This pilot feedback will form the basis of our material on remuneration that we will put forward to the Commission.
Rostering: Skytraders has notified us that it is in the process of working on a revised set of rostering rules. However, and understandably, this work has been hampered by several factors such as the Christmas and New Year holidays, and personal circumstances that have of course taken priority. Accordingly, we have not yet seen what that revised proposal looks like. No doubt, we will have a greater idea after the conference on Tuesday next week.
Notwithstanding this, our concerns with the rostering rules remain as follows:
For all fleets: the ability of Skytraders to change the roster after publication in a wide range of circumstances is not accetped. The AFAP has proposed the following clause to be included in all 4 sets of rostering rules:
Any changes to an Employee’s published roster must be made in accordance with this clause x.7 or as otherwise agreed between the Employee and the Company.
Changes to the roster outside a seven (7) day period can be made by the Company within a buffer period defined by two (2) hours either side of the original rostered duty.
Changes to the roster within seven (7) days can be made within a buffer period defined by two (2) hours either side of the last notified duty if the Pilot agrees, which will not be unreasonably withheld by the Pilot.
For the B350 fleet: roster publication should be made 14 days in advance, there should be 6 RDOs (or a mix of 4 RDOs and 2 DFODs) in each 14 day roster period and a 28 day averaging period.
For the C212 fleet: a roster period of 28 days.
In addition, Skytraders should be able to clearly explain the effect of the rostering rules when asked to do so by a pilot. It appears this was not always the case during the Town Halls held prior to the last vote.
If Skytraders puts forward a proposal that catered for the above concerns, then the AFAP would support the agreement.
We will update you on the conference before Commissioner Wilson once it has occurred.
Protected Action Ballot - Pilot Details
In accordance with the orders made by Commissioner Hampton on 24 December 2024, the AFAP must supply its list of names of members and associated information (email addresses, postal addresses, and mobile numbers) to the independent ballot agent who will be conducting the vote. This must be provided to the ballot agent by 4 pm AEDT, Tuesday, 7 January 2025. Skytraders does not see any of the information that the AFAP provides to the ballot agent.
The AFAP gathers this information off our membership system. Accordingly, it is critical that you have your details up to date in our membership system. This must be done well before Tuesday next week. If you are not sure whether your membership details are current, then please check by going online at www.afap.org.au or contacting us on (03) 9928 5737.
The precise timetable of the ballot will be determined by the ballot agent, and you will be informed by either email or sms of the process to be followed. We will also keep you updated of the timetable once determined.
The ballot will close on 17 January 2025, and any industrial action authorised ballot may then be taken if properly notified. The AFAP will provide instructions at that time. Importantly, you must not take any industrial action until the AFAP notifies you that it can be taken. You must wait for that notification.
Once again, the AFAP wishes you all a successful year in 2025, and hopes for the implementation of a new enterprise agreement that suits both you, the pilot cohort, and Skytraders.
If you have any questions regarding this update, you can contact Andrew Molnar (AFAP Legal Counsel) on
andrew@afap.org.au or alternatively on (03) 9928 5737.
Your AFAP Industrial Team