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Tigerair staff have been reassured that they won’t be made redundant despite parent company Virgin Australia slipping into administration on Tuesday.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that employees were given the reassurance that they were an “essential part of its low-fares offering” in a conference call.
In March, the business made all pilots at Tigerair redundant, leading to questions about its long-term future.
The Flight Attendants Association of Australia told the newspaper that Tigerair employees were “apprehensive rather than relieved. A lot of current Virgin and Tiger employees are ex-Ansett, so there’s a lot of trepidation”.
After the airline’s collapse into administration, TWU national secretary Michael Kaine urged the federal government to sit down with the trade unions representing the 16,000 Virgin workers.
“The future of these workers and the options available to the travelling public are the biggest issues facing the government now that Virgin has entered voluntary administration. Unions stand ready to work with the government on helping to devise a solution on Virgin’s future to ensure good jobs, a decent reliable service for the public and a return for taxpayers,” Kaine said.
“There is still time to rescue Virgin and for the federal government to take a bold move to ensure that the Australian economy is ready to bounce back when the crisis abates. Governments around the world are taking the difficult decisions to protect their economy and jobs and we urge the Australian government to follow suit.”
The airline group confirmed its collapse on Tuesday morning, after the announcement leaked the previous evening. The business was struggling to service a $4.8 billion debt pile with little revenue coming in.
After the announcement, Deloitte administrator Vaughan Strawbridge and Virgin chief executive Paul Scurrah revealed more than 10 parties have expressed interest in recapitalising the company, which they described as being “very sophisticated parties”.
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Sacked Tiger Pilot
says:Reassured by who? All the pilots and most of the flight attendants have already been made redundant. This is ridiculous and insulting article.
Lucas
says:Well them… the 400 pilots that have just been made redundant didn’t receive this memo.
Warren
says:“VIRGIN REASSURES TIGERAIR STAFF THEIR FUTURE IS SAFE”…
Except for all the pilots made redundant on 3rd April, and all the office staff ( in fact everyone except cabin crew) being also made redundant.
Warren
says:“VIRGIN REASSURES TIGERAIR STAFF THEIR FUTURE IS SAFE”
– Except all the tigerair pilots that were made redundant on 3rd April, and all office staff ( in fact everyone except cabin crew) also being made redundant.
Dennis Denuto
says:Dear Adam Thorn,
Keeping the jobs at Tigerair safe!?
All the pilots, all the Sydney and Brisbane based flight attendants have ALREADY been made redundant. Did you mean saving jobs for the Virgin pilots that are operating Tigerair livery aircraft with a few of the Tiger flight attendants from Melbourne that remain.
This article is an insult to those that have lost their jobs and livelyhood. Shame on you.
Adam Thorn
says:Dennis,
The article specifically mentions that in the third line. In fact, in the fourth, it talks about the level of apprehension among employees.
Thanks,
Adam
Dave Milliken
says:This reassurance doesn’t sound particularly reassuring
Clipped wings
says:Our future isn’t safe, because the majority of Tigerair staff have been made redundant. This article is incorrect and insulting,
Craigy
says:How can they give assurances about the future for staff, particularly those at Tigerair? Surely it’s future is a decision of Virgin Holdings new owners.
matt sheppard
says:Not quite a factual account. Only a select number of Tiger staff have been retained, namely the Melbourne based Flight Attendants. Everyone else has been made redundant: Operational staff, Office Staff, Flight Attendants, ALL Pilots, probably close to 1000 people. Also, lets not forget what redundancy means. It does not mean they would need any reassurance their future is safe because they have no future at the airline.
Winno
says:Adam, I think a more accurate headline would be: AFTER SACKING 80% OF TIGERAIR EMPLOYEES VIRGIN REASSURES THE REMAINING SKELETON TIGERAIR STAFF THEIR FUTURE IS SAFE