Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) says Virgin Australia workers will have expressed relief following the announcement that Paul Jones will not be appointed as the airline’s future CEO.
The decision comes amid widespread concern over Jones’ involvement in the illegal sacking of over 1,800 Qantas workers, a move condemned by industry representatives and workers alike.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine welcomed the decision, stating that Bain Capital’s consideration of Jones for the role was alarming.
“It is disturbing in the extreme that Bain Capital would even have contemplated appointing one of the key instigators of the illegal sackings of over 1,800 workers at Qantas,” Kaine said.
The TWU, alongside Virgin employees, played a crucial role in the airline’s recovery after it entered administration in 2020. Kaine criticised the former Morrison government for failing to intervene during Virgin’s crisis, leaving workers to fight for the airline’s survival.
“Fresh from successfully negotiating a post-COVID return to sustainable terms and conditions across ground, cabin crew, and pilot workforces, the last thing workers and the business needed was a new CEO whose only claim to fame was the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history,” he said.
Kaine urged Bain Capital to move away from an industrial relations model similar to that of former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, whose tenure was marked by legal battles over worker treatment.
“We hope that this marks the end of Bain’s dalliance with a potential Joyce model of adversarial industrial relations,” he added.
The controversy surrounding the potential appointment has reignited calls for an independent Safe and Secure Skies Commission, which the TWU argues is necessary to ensure accountability in the aviation sector. Kaine stressed the importance of prioritising workers and passengers over corporate profits and executive bonuses.
“This episode once again proves why aviation urgently needs a Safe and Secure Skies Commission, an independent decision maker that can hold the industry to account and ensure that workers and the flying public are at the centre—and are not a second-order issue to profiteering and executive bonuses,” he said.
A recent survey of over 2,000 aviation workers underscored the industry’s challenges, revealing that more than 70% of respondents felt they could not afford to remain in aviation due to inadequate wages and conditions.
The TWU continues to push for reforms that will safeguard aviation jobs and improve working conditions, ensuring stability for employees and passengers alike in the post-pandemic era.
