Skydivers go on strike in three Australian states and claim pay has plummeted | Australia news

Australian paratroopers went on strike on Friday over a pay dispute with the industry’s leading employer; amid claims that experienced trainers will have to “pick up a paintbrush” to supplement their income if they give up.

Ongoing industrial action against Experience Co at eight sites in NSW, Victoria and Queensland has led the adventure tourism company to reschedule skydives at the start of the busy summer season.

The strike, which could extend into next week, is the first of its kind for the paratroopers and comes after 10 months of stalled negotiations for an enterprise agreement.

A striking educator told Guardian Australia that the workforce had unionized after years of changing pay structures.

“You’ve got top-level guys doing 25,000 jumps, and all of a sudden they’re going to have to pick up a paintbrush and start painting to make a living,” said the instructor, who asked to remain anonymous.

“You don’t go into skydiving for the money but you want to earn more than someone working in Coles or Woolies. It’s almost a career but not quite.”

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Skydivers in Australia traditionally worked as freelance traders, paid per jump, before moving to an employee-based model in recent years.

The Australian Workers Union (AWU) said Experience Co wanted to reduce instructors’ annual minimum wage to below $50,000, with additional earnings dependent on what it called a “very low” per-jump rate.

It is seeking a safety net of up to $75,000 for experienced instructors.

“Tandem skydiving instructors literally take people’s lives in their hands every time they go to work,” said AWU national organizer Jonathan Cook.

“Would you want your mother to be attached to an underpaid trainer?”

An experienced instructor who “jumps hard” with more than 1,000 jumps a year can expect to earn around $100,000, according to skydivers interviewed by Guardian Australia.

The union said most of the company’s paratroopers have seen little or no increase in their base pay for decades.

Experience Co is a listed company that employs around 130 skydivers as part of a wider tourism business that includes reef tours, high ropes courses and luxury stays in the bush.

He rejected the union’s demands and said the salary offers included “six-figure” salary offers.

While skydiving revenue has picked up in recent years, including a 5% increase in 2024-25 driven by returning international tourists, revenue is still below pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis of the company’s accounts.

The business model is based on customers also paying for photos and videos of their experiences.

John O’Sullivan, managing director of Experience Co, described the union-organized strike as “reckless and unnecessary” at a time when the business was still trying to recover from the pandemic.

“Given the strength of our proposals, we find it difficult to understand this action. We urge the union to return to the bargaining table with reasonable expectations so that we can reach an agreement as quickly as possible,” O’Sullivan said.

“The union’s outrageous actions not only hurt us, they send shockwaves through local communities, harming small businesses and threatening regional economies.”

AAP contributed to this report