Unions have seized on a turnaround in fortunes at Qantas, demanding the airline halt job cuts in the wake of its return to profit.
Qantas on Thursday announced its best half-year result in four years, posting a net profit of $203 million, a turnaround from a loss of $235m at the same time last year.
The result, which follows a full-year net loss of $2.8 billion in 2013/14, was driven by stronger earnings across all of the airline’s divisions and on the back of lower fuel prices.
Qantas chief Alan Joyce pointed to the carrier’s massive transformation program as the “decisive factor”, saying it had delivered a $374 million benefit in the first six months of the financial year.
Under the three-year plan, more than 5000 jobs were to be shed amid $2 billion in costs cuts.
But the Transport Workers Union says Qantas should repay its workforce, and that the impressive return to the black could not have been achieved without their sacrifice.
“The workforce and their families have borne the brunt of wage freezes and redundancies,” TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said.
“Qantas has cut full time jobs and replaced them with part time jobs. It is through their hard work and loyalty that the company has turned around and it is time to reward them with job security.”
He said the union was particularly concerned about a recent announcement that the airline’s catering division was seeking to make redundancies.
“Alan Joyce made just over $2 million last year when Qantas posted a $2.8 billion loss,” Mr Sheldon said.
“Our members meanwhile find it difficult to pay their bills because their hours have been cut or they are employed on a casual basis. We are calling a halt to this robbery of the community’s economic freedom.”
Mr Joyce said the transformation program was the main factor in the airline’s “best half year performance in four years”.
“Without the impact of transformation, Qantas would not be profitable today,” he said.
“These results confirmed that we are executing the right plan with discipline and with speed. We are meeting or exceeding all our targets as we build a strong, sustainable future for Qantas and grow long-term shareholder value,” he said.
