Last week, the AFAP held an online meeting with Pel-Air Pilots to discuss the status of your Pel-Air Enterprise Agreement. For pilots who were unable to attend, what follows is a summary of that meeting so you are all up to date.
As you are aware, negotiations commenced for a Pel-Air EA began while Pel-Air was still under Rex ownership. Negotiations were necessarily paused during the period when Toll acquired Pel-Air. With that acquisition now complete, and preliminary discussions between the AFAP and Toll having occured (see below), negotiations are now set to resume.
Initial Meeting with Toll Management
The AFAP recently met with Toll management for a 'meet and greet'. Andrew Molnar (AFAP Legal Counsel) met with James Morley (Toll Group General Manager Employee and Industrial Relations) and Colin Gunn (General Manager of Toll Aeromedical/Helicopters). The meeting served as an opportunity for both parties to connect and establish the foundation for future negotitions for your EA.
The conversation focused on cultural shifts that have occured at Pel-Air since the Toll acquisitino and the expectations of the parties. Toll acknowledged the past challenges for Pel-Air pilots under Rex and indicated that concerted efforts were being made to address differences between the NSW and Victoria groups of pilots. While a brief discussion arose around the idea of separate agreements for NSW and Victoria, Toll indicated a preference for a single, unified agreement. This is, of course, the preference of the AFAP.
Both Toll and the AFAP agreed this negotiation period could act as a reset on negotiations (which were difficult to progress while Rex was still in control), and offers a welcome opportunity to rebuild the industrial relationship.
The prioty areas of interest to be discussed during bargaining are:
- for pilots, remuneration and rostering (and lifestyle generally); and
- for Toll, pilot retention and operational continuity.
Toll also raised the area of the introduction of technology being dealt with in a Pel-Air EA, similar to the Toll Rotary Wing EA.
Toll suggested the Rotary Wind EA may provide a useful structural template (with appropriate modifications of course) for an EA applicable to the fixed-wing operation.
A copy of the Rotary Wing Agreement can be accessed [HERE]. The AFAP agrees that the Rotary Wing EA will be a useful template, but it will need to be carefully tailored to address the specific needs and concerns of fixed-wing pilots at Pel-Air.
Next Steps
The AFAP will next review the claims made during the previous round of bargaining under Rex. This will help identify which issues remain unresolved and which may now be outdated. In this regard, we understand that pilot numbers have greatly improved, and movements on remuneration for Victorian pilots have been well received.
Gerald Taffs and Tim Urquart have acted as pilot representatives during negotiations previously. We encourage more pilots to get involved in the bargaining process and to act as pilot representatives. Greater pilot participation strengthens our position and ensures all views are comprehensively represented. If you are interested in becoming a pilot representative, please contact the AFAP using the contact details below.
Next Steps
Pilots should review the Rotary Wing EA (see link above) to familiarise themselves with it and take note of anything useful contained in it.
Once the above has been accomplished, the AFAP together with the pilots will develop revised log of claims based on the current situation, anything remaining relevant from past negotiations and the Rotary Wing EA. After this, the AFAP will contact James Morley and Colin Gunn to establish a bargaining protocol which will address the frequency and format of meetings, a timeline for negotiations including an estimated date for an EA to be put out to a vote.
If you have any questions or would like to be involved as a pilot representative, please reach out to Jason Newell (AFAP Senior Industrial Officer) (jason@afap.org.au) or Andrew Molnar (AFAP Legal Counsel) (andrew@afap.org.au). You can also contact us on (03) 9928 5737.
Your AFAP Industrial Team