Virgin workers tell Bain they want shares in IPO

afr.com:

Virgin Australia workers have ramped up their campaign for better conditions and a bid to secure shares in its initial public offering.

The Transport Workers Union submitted to Virgin’s owners Bain Capital, Virgin Group and QIC a list of five demands, including the award of $1000 worth of stock to the company’s 7000 staff as part of an employee share scheme.

Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine wants Virgin Australia’s employees to profit too. Alex Ellinghausen

While fund managers are baffled that Virgin has been so low profile on the IPO-front, with no investor meetings scheduled since March, TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said workers deserve a slice of the business.

“Bain stands to gain hundreds of millions from an upcoming IPO, it is only right that hardworking staff are rewarded for their efforts through a reasonable employee share scheme, the likes of which are common in Australia,” Mr Kaine said.

Virgin Australia pilots, cabin crew and ground workers say Bain needs to prioritise rewarding workers and addressing “workplace issues that have caused stress, fatigue and high turnover, invest in the airline, and maintain Virgin Australia’s high safety and service standards”.

Last month the airline was forced to increase the pay of ground staff and cabin crew by up to 5.75 per cent as a consequence of the Fair Work Commission’s minimum wage ruling, leading to automatic increases for 500 to 600 Virgin workers.

The TWU said Virgin ground workers and cabin crew have commenced enterprise agreement negotiations, with meetings scheduled for Tuesday, while pilots will begin negotiations in the coming months.

“Aviation must be rebalanced to ensure good quality jobs and service standards are prioritised