Our members and delegates at Virgin Australia recently pushed back against the company’s proposal to introduce a new annual leave system known as Annual Leave Bidding. This new system would force members to compete for their desired annual leave slots during a specified period (referred to as the Ballot Year), with approvals based on the bidding process.

Our excellent delegates Karen Oviedo and Tara Louise Stewart-Greaney raised our members’ concerns at Virgin’s national consultation meeting on Friday 15 March. Our delegates and USU/ASU reps confronted the company on the misleading information they sent to staff to try to sell them on the new annual leave system, and highlighted the ways in which the proposal would breach the Virgin enterprise agreement.

Virgin Australia was sent back to the drawing board on their new annual leave bidding proposal, and members are gearing up to challenge the proposal if it would risk their workplace right to a fair and equitable annual leave applications process.