AFAP NJS Pilot Council - June 2025 Update
Christmas Leave Survey – Outcome & Next Steps
On Wednesday, 11 June, representatives from the AFAP and AIPA met with COO Nick Collie and HOFO Tony MacDonald to discuss the recent change to the Christmas leave process, a change made by the company without prior consultation with the pilot group.
As many of you will recall, in February the company reduced the Christmas leave embargo period to just two weeks, even stating in an email that it was continuing the “equitable structure from previous years.” However, this alteration marked a clear departure from the well-established leave system that had been in place for over a decade.
In response, the AFAP conducted a member survey to assess sentiment regarding the change. The feedback was overwhelmingly supportive of returning to the previous system, which embargoed leave across December and January and operated with a separate Christmas Leave Eligibility List. This long-standing process provided pilots with meaningful and fair opportunities to take extended leave during the Christmas/New Year period, a time often difficult to access during a flying career. After this embargoed period was finalised, all remaining leave was released for general bidding under the usual leave process.
The company received this feedback positively, and it is anticipated that the previous system will be reinstated for the 2026 Christmas period. Unfortunately, it appears there is limited scope to make changes for 2025. However, if you believe you’ve been unfairly impacted by the 2025 leave allocation, please contact your AFAP representative as soon as possible.
EA Survey Results – Your Priorities, Clearly Heard
Thank you to everyone who participated in the first EA survey. Your responses have provided clear direction and will now be combined with results from the other pilot unions. This collective data will help shape upcoming surveys and member engagement sessions as we develop the final log of claims.
Here are the Top 5 priorities identified by AFAP members:
Remuneration
Roster Protocols
Roster Bidding
Simplified Duty Change System
Increase in RDOs per Roster Period
Other key areas that also scored highly include:
Duty Travel
Loss of Licence Insurance
Ability to upscale and down scale workload
The comments section was particularly valuable and gave great insight into the issues that matter most. Remember, you don’t have to wait for the next survey to have your say, your council is always open to hearing feedback and ideas.
Please keep a look out for upcoming member engagement sessions in the next few months as we look forward towards the commencement of EA negotiations.
As always your Council are:
Anthony Clouting on
clouters@me.com
Eric Galliers on
ericgalliers@hotmail.com
Justin Gordon on
justin.gordon69@gmail.com
Paul Davison on
paul_davison85@hotmail.com
In addition, AFAP staff member Chris Aikens can be contacted on
chris@afap.org.au. The AFAP also has their Member Assistance Program (MAP) which can be accessed via Freecall 1300 307 912