Unions say Qantas customer service and check-in staff are most likely to be affected by job cuts at Canberra airport, as the national carrier opens its voluntary redundancy program.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Qantas employees, including those at Canberra Airport, were to be offered voluntary redundancy packages on Thursday.
Staff have until the end of the month to submit their applications.
The Australian Services Union and Transport Workers Union predicted few Canberra staff would apply for payouts and said staff were still largely in the dark about how they would be affected.
The move comes as Qantas seeks to slash 5000 jobs nationwide as part of a $2 billion cost reduction strategy announced late last week. While the airline announced it would cut several routes, Canberra services will not be affected.
Up to 4000 Qantas staff nationwide are expected to be offered the voluntary redundancy packages. Workers in Sydney have been given a deadline of March 21.
Transport Workers Union national secretary Tony Sheldon said Qantas had still not revealed where the proposed 5000 job cuts would come from.
Australian Services Union NSW/ACT secretary Sally McManus said that while discussions had been held with Qantas executives at Sydney Airport, no further discussions have been held with workers at Canberra Airport.
“The reason why no particular discussions have taken place at Canberra Airport is because the company’s message is the same as it is for all domestic airports around the country – ‘at the end of the month we’ll be happy to talk to you’,” she said.
“Qantas are betting that lots of people will put in for voluntary redundancies and I think that’s a serious miscalculation given the state of the job market in Canberra.
“Canberra is particularly affected by cuts to public service jobs and people aren’t as willing to take the risk.
Transport Workers Union ACT secretary Klaus Pinkas said his members had received little information on potential job losses at Canberra Airport from Qantas.
“Local management held discussions with Qantas workers at Canberra Airport following last week’s announcement and basically said 'We don’t know what’s happening',” he said.
Mr Pinkas said voluntary redundancies in "below-the-wing" roles at Canberra Airport limited the company's ability to cut jobs but expressed concerns Qantas employees elsewhere in the airport might be affected.
“I suspect that if you are a mid-level or even a senior-level manager with Qantas anywhere in Australia you would be very nervous,” he said.
Ms McManus said customer service staff working in the lounges at Canberra Airport and check-in staff were more likely to be affected than those working in "below-the-wing" roles.
Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss introduced legislation to remove restrictions on foreign ownership of Qantas on Thursday morning, although the move was unlikely to receive support from the Senate.
