The USU/ASU met with Jetstar last Friday to continue to negotiate an alternative set of rostering principles for Stand Down.

We expected to be in a position to review Jetstar’s proposal for dealing with annual leave while no projected rosters are in place.

Despite commitments from Jetstar to provide us with their detailed proposals, those documents were not received in time for the meeting.

The USU/ASU demands that Jetstar provide sufficient information to update members today –it is becoming impossible to believe that Jetstar are taking consultation with the union seriously.

We have also raised member concerns about waitlisted annual leave for periods after June 2021 under review. We know that the lack of communication from Jetstar has once again caused unnecessary anxiety for staff and will report back as soon as we know more about the review.

Stand Down dispute and next steps

The USU/ASU has notified Jetstar that we will report back to the Commission to seek their further assistance in resolving the dispute.

Failure to meet the obligations of the EA is disrespectful to you, your union and causes ongoing delays to resolution of issues.

We expect that management meet their commitments to you in the agreement, at national consultation meetings and in the commission.

Contactless airports and payments

Jetstar has also talked about the prospect of a new project to implement technology changes in airports that would facilitate a greater number of contactless payments from Jetstar customers.

The USU/ASU is very concerned about the impact of new technologies and we have notified Jetstar of their obligations to consult with us in your EBA.

We are particularly concerned that Jetstar notify us about all requirements for staff to retrain and the impacts to any opportunities for staff to earn commission or develop their skills as a result of new technologies.

Jetstar has failed to confirm the full scope of their intentions and the potential impacts of the changes to the USU/ASU. We have demanded that the scope of the project be made known to us. We have arranged for an urgent meeting today to raise our concerns about the proposed changes.

What we know so far is that Jetstar intends to introduce new technologies on a trial basis to 1 airport or a limited number of airports. We believe that those airports will include Adelaide and possibly Brisbane.

We will continue to update you as we learn more and as the scope of the project is made clear to us by Jetstar.

Time to join the union!

If you are not yet an USU/ASU member – now is the time to join. Sign up now to make sure you are supported throughout this crisis: www.usu.org.au/join

For more information please contact interim organiser Mick Jones 0450 020 589.