Qantas has defended its call for volunteers to man front-line positions during the Christmas period after the airline was accused of ‘shocking corporate greed’.
It sent a communication to head office staff seeking ‘volunteers’ to help out during the busy holiday period, sparking a spate of disparaging social media posts from customers and anger from unions.
The leaked memo said: "We are trialling a new volunteer program for our campus-based people to lend a hand to the front line."
Qantas defended the move, saying ‘it is not about cutting costs, this is about spreading a bit of Christmas cheer’.
The Australian Services Union saw it a different way, describing it as a ‘shocking display of corporate greed’.
Netizens took to Twitter to vent at the airline which made almost $1 billion last year and paid CEO Alan Joyce $25 million.
