JETSTAR has warned a Thai labour hire firm it faces the sack if threats to fatigued cabin crew continue, as they deal with fatigue allegations of their own.
The airline has written to Tour East Thailand, of which Qantas owns 37 per cent, requiring it to retract letters to five Bangkok-based flight attendants who pulled out of a Sydney to Melbourne flight complaining of fatigue.
The letters said poor time management was not acceptable and required promises the crew would not repeat their behaviour. It also castigated them for damaging Jetstar’s reputation.
But Jetstar has demanded that TET retract the letters and apologise to the five crew. Qantas said it had asked for an explanation from the company.
Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said the airline had not been aware of the letters. He said it had written to TET yesterday requiring it to retract the letters and write to cabin crew advising them of Jetstar policies on fatigue.
Jetstar has warned TET it will not remain a labour hire company for the airline if the behaviour was repeated.
The issue came to light in an ABC Lateline report that claimed Jetstar crews were working dangerously long hours and had complained they would be unable to deal with emergencies.
The report said crews were regularly working up to 20 hours on shifts.
Mr Buchanan said no flight attendant was rostered to work 20-hour shifts and the average flight attendant worked 24 hours a week.
“We take our duty of care really seriously,” he said.
But Jestar hosties on Darwin to Sydney flights have complained that they are overworked and too exhausted to respond to emergencies because of long shifts.
At least 37 exhaustion complaints from cabin crew on Darwin to Sydney and Perth to Sydney flights have allegedly been lodged with the budget airline.
The staff members told Lateline they would “not be alert enough to respond accordingly” in an emergency because of fatigue, as they are often asked to work shifts of up to 20 hours long.
“I’ve had a couple of times where I’ve had a delay on the Bali flight and that 14-hour, 15-hour shift would turn into a 19-hour, 20-hour shift,”one member said.
Another said he felt “like a slave”.
“I believe that if there was an emergency situation, crew would not be alert enough to respond accordingly,” the complaint said.
A flight attendant said it was unsafe.
“I am concerned that it will only be when something unfortunate happens that something will be done about this.”
The carrier rejected the allegations yesterday, with spokeswoman Jennifer Timm refusing to reveal the number of complaints the company had received.
“Jetstar takes fatigue extremely seriously and actively encourages any cabin crew member to report any instances of fatigue,” she said.
“Safety is our number one priority and we have an open culture of reporting issues.”
- With The Australian and NT News
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