Qantas staff to be given $5,000 bonus
Qantas has announced a nice $5,000 bonus to 19,000 of its employees as the carrier continues to recover after Covid.
The Australian carrier’s net debt had risen to an eye-watering $6.4 billion due to next to no flights during the two years of closed borders.
The net debt now sits well below pre-covid levels at $4 billion as more customers are opting to travel with Qantas.
Qantas is now set to give 19,000 of its employees a one-off recovery boost of $5,000.
In addition to the bonus, Qantas group will look at increasing permanent wages by two per cent, which were also frozen during lockdown and closed borders.
It is expected that the entire ordeal will cost Qantas a whopping $87 million in the 2022 Financial Year.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said recovery of the carrier began in December when the company decided to bring its workers back before borders opened.
“It’s been a tough few years for everyone in aviation but we promised to share the benefits of the recovery once it arrived,” he said.
“For our people, the recovery really started last December when we made the decision to bring everyone back to work ahead of schedule and well before all borders opened.
“In February, we announced a bonus scheme that gives employees at least 1000 shares in the national carrier if key conditions are met, which are on track.
“We’re announcing a one-off payment that goes some of the way to acknowledging the sacrifices our people have made, including long periods of no work and no annual wage increases. It also recognises the great work they are doing as we restart the airline, which has been challenging for everyone.
“This comes at a time when travel demand is rebounding but our people are facing a unique set of cost of living pressures, which frankly they’d be in a better position to handle if aviation hadn’t been so badly hit over the past two years. That’s now changing.
“We can’t afford to permanently increase salaries beyond the two per cent threshold we’ve set, but we can afford to make this one-off payment on top of the Qantas share rights we’ve already given.
“Getting our permanent cost base right is how we’re able to reinvest, which ultimately means more opportunity for our people.
“The structure of our business means many of our people see their salary increase significantly as their careers progress. That progression often relies on the business growing, so the recent investments we’ve announced in new aircraft and new ventures will see employees share in the benefit as the national carrier enters a new phase.”
Image: Qantas