Australia’s skydiving industry is bracing for major disruption today, including in Noosa, with tandem instructors employed by Experience Co striking.
The skydiving instructors are walking off the job and will rally at eight sites across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
The Australian Workers’ Union said the unprecedented action follows nearly 10 months of stalled negotiations for a first-ever enterprise agreement, talks which workers say have revealed a company willing to trade away the industry’s reputation for profit.
The union said despite delivering its strongest financial results since 2019, Experience Co..better known as Skydive Australia…has repeatedly pushed wage proposals that would send employees backwards.
It said some offers have included cuts of between $20,000 and $100,000 a year, while the latest proposal would slash the minimum annual wage for skydiving instructors from $57,000 to just $49,000 with earnings dependent on a very low “per jump” piece-rate.
AWU National Organiser, Jonathan Cook, said the cuts are not only disrespectful to workers, they undermine the safety of every customer who straps into a tandem harness.
“Tandem skydiving instructors literally take people’s lives in their hands every time they go to work,” he said.
“If you’re not investing in your people, you’re undermining the trust that the industry has built up over years.
“You might want to give a once in a lifetime gift this Christmas but would you want your Mum strapped to an underpaid instructor?
“Experience Co’s message is clear: they want to turn these skilled professionals into gig workers, paid less, working more, and carrying the same enormous responsibility.
“Would you jump out of a plane with an instructor who can’t afford to feed their family, while the company pockets millions?”
Experience Co employs more than 1,000 people, including 130 skydivers, across some of Australia’s most iconic tourism destinations, including Noosa, Airlie Beach, Mission Beach and Cairns.
Mr Cook said many of these instructors have completed thousands of jumps and undergone extensive safety training, yet, despite the industry’s growth, most have seen little to no base wage increases in decades.
Meanwhile, Skydive Australia is calling on the union to end what it has called irresponsible industrial action.
In a statement, Skydive Australia said it was notified of protected industrial action by the Australian Workers Union (AWU), forcing the company to reschedule customers across a number of sites in our network.
The CEO of Experience Co which owns Skydive Australia, John O’Sullivan, said “thanks to the hard work of our team and the patience and understanding of our customers and partners we have managed to accommodate most changes so they can enjoy a safe and unforgettable experience.”
“All impacted customers have already been contacted.
“Even so, we share their disappointment at the AWU for its unreasonable and irresponsible industrial action, which is disrupting customers and employees during one of the busiest periods of the year.
“We urge the AWU to reconsider its actions and put a stop to the reckless disruption it is causing.
“Skydive Australia is a business recovering from COVID that proudly employs people in, and attracts visitors to, regional Australia. These employment opportunities should be encouraged and fostered, not threatened by unreasonable and irresponsible actions by militant union bosses,” Mr Sullivan said.
“Our attractions are a magnet for tourists and the lifeblood of regional economies. The union’s outrageous actions don’t just hurt us, they send shock waves through local communities, damaging small businesses and threatening regional economies.
“Since February, Skydive Australia has been actively engaged in good faith bargaining for an enterprise agreement with the AWU covering 129 employees.
“The company has made numerous offers that would provide the union’s members with job security and conditions in the sector, including six figure salaries for Tandem Masters in popular locations.
“The AWU has rejected every offer and responded with an ambit claim in November which would add massive costs that are simply not viable for the business in its current state of recovery. It also includes conditions that do not benefit employees, as well as remuneration clauses for unproductive tasks such as sitting on buses.
“We are at a loss to understand this action given the strength of our offers and we call on the union to return to the bargaining table with reasonable expectations so we can come to an agreement as quickly as possible,” Mr Sullivan said.
