Short Haul EA Deal Voted Down

AIPA has been advised that SH pilots have voted to NOT accept the proposed EA deal. A majority of SH pilots voted 36% to 64% to NOT accept the deal.
 
It is important at this point to acknowledge that this result comes at the end of a nearly 12-month process involving surveys, bargaining, multiple votes by CoM (including December 2023), explanatory documents, calculators and podcasts. 
 
It has taken a massive effort by numerous volunteers to get to this point. Regardless of the result, special thanks to Greg Pavlou and Chris Hewett for their work on the SHEA team. And thanks to the other volunteers for their work on this project as well.
 
So, what happens now?
 
Qantas will now have to assess the outcome of the vote and decide on their next move.
 
AIPA remains committed to renewing negotiations in the room to find ways to address the concerns of the pilots who voted on this deal. 
 
To help us do that, a survey will be distributed to members next week seeking your feedback on where you felt the deal wasn't good enough for you to support it.
 
It will be sent to AIPA members who were eligible to vote in the SH EA.
 
Your feedback will help us communicate to the Company what needs to change to better reflect what our members want to see in this deal.
 
A new SH EA team will be selected to renew negotiations with the Company. This will be discussed at the next CoM meeting on October 8.
 
It is important to acknowledge that the vote was a clear no. It is reflective of the anger and frustration that remains present within the pilot body, particularly around the Company's wages policy. And it demonstrates a lack of trust borne out of decades of poor treatment by the Company. 
 
It also shows that the Company needs to significantly improve the deal to address the concerns and needs of the SH pilot cohort. You have spoken. Now it is time for the Company to listen. Completing the survey will help us to articulate your concerns to the Company when we return to the negotiating room.
  
What is important amongst the pilot body is to avoid the situation of positioning each other as either winners or losers depending on how you chose to vote. We must respect each other's choices, whilst we consider the next phase of the SH EA process.
 
AIPA respects the decision of the pilots and will work hard to address your continued concerns. The follow-up survey will be sent to the same email address that receives these communications, but as always, please check your junk folders just in case.
 
We will advise the exact date of the release of the survey once we have finalised it.
 

Safe flying,

Captain Tony Lucas

AIPA President