Jetstar waited until Christmas Eve to notify staff about new periods of Stand Down.
As soon as we became aware of border closures taking effect in December, ASU officials urgently sought information from Jetstar about the impact to members.
Jetstar made numerous excuses for delaying their advice and did not advise us they would start rostering you less than your minimum weekly hours.
Christmas Eve
ASU delegates acted quickly to provide examples of rostering changes and we were able to notify Jetstar we are in dispute.
The ASU would like to thank your hard working delegates who notified the ASU about your concerns.
We met with Jetstar management on Tuesday 29 December 2020. We were not completely satisfied with the outcomes from the meeting and have urgently sought a further meeting with Jetstar to continue discussions.
A further meeting has been scheduled on Thursday 7 January 2020 to review network schedules and we have also notified Jetstar of a dispute.
Temporary rostering measures
Over the last year as airlines have dealt with shut downs due to the Coronavirus pandemic, a number of measures to suit each airline were agreed with the ASU.
Measures have included ensuring that useful work was allocated fairly and staff have been able to get some flexibility from their primary employer while accepting work elsewhere. These measures have also meant that staff could work elsewhere and ensure that available work could go to any employees who wanted to remain in a smaller work pool.
On Christmas Eve, Jetstar decided to throw out their own temporary rostering measures and without discussing their plans with us, change rosters so significantly that large numbers of Jetstar employees were not rostered minimum hours.
We are seeking a resolution to the concerns raised by ASU members who have said the situation before Christmas was confusing, wrong and unfair.
Dispute
The ASU believes that Jetstar should minimise all impacts to staff by striking a better balance between allocating available work to as many employees as possible, reducing the number of stand downs, as well as ensuring the minimum weekly hours of work and notice periods provided in the EBA are maintained.
ASU delegates and organisers will continue to meet with Jetstar about reduced working hours over the Christmas and New Year period. If we are not satisfied with the steps Jetstar takes, we may need to take your concerns to the Fair Work Commission.
We will keep you updated as the State border situation and meetings with Jetstar evolve.
Time to join the union!
If you are not yet an ASU member – it is not too late to join. Sign up now to make sure you are supported throughout this crisis: www.asu.asn.au/asujoin
Jetstar Bulletin - 5 January 2021