The Australian Services Union today said the benefits of Qantas’ profit result were being withheld from the workers who delivered it.
ASU Assistant National Secretary Linda White said Qantas’ decision to continue withholding bonuses due last year had to be addressed.
“This year’s Qantas’ profit result is made on the back of wage theft from its workforce and that has to stop,” said Ms White.
“Qantas owes their staff unpaid bonusses and to brag about record profits while refusing to pay staff what they’re owed stinks.
“Delays to bonus payments when they were making a loss were understandable and the union was prepared to work with Qantas on that.
“But if two consecutive years of record profits tells you anything, it’s that their argument to delay wage rises and withhold bonuses has evaporated.
“They can comfortably afford to pay their workforce their overdue bonuses and deliver wage rises. The message to Qantas is simple – it’s time to pay up.”
Ms White said while many Qantas workers struggle to make ends meet with the increasing cost of living and stagnating wages, the CEO’s salary has ballooned to almost $10.9 million a year.
“Qantas, profits never seem to trickle down – they always trickle up in the form of higher CEO and executive bonuses.”