Qantas Grounds ALL International And Domestic Flights With Immediate Effect

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Wow! Now there's an airline with a death wish...

BBC News - Labour row grounds Qantas flights

 

[beorhthelm]

not sure i follow the logic of a lockout, especially for an airline. shirely they still have to pay employees along with all the other bills, so its more costly than the workers striking? or is it simply to put pressure on the government to back their side?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Its the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday. Going to be a lot of very pissed off people hoping to attend that. Coincidence of timing? Probably not.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

I understand it Qantas are one of a VERY FEW airlines that have a no crash record,and intend to keep it. That has been mentioned in news reports.

 

[tedebear]

Good on Qantas they've been hemoraging millions to the unions over the last few weeks, the Australian Unions and Unions in particular need to learn the hard way that they cannot make claims on employers which would potentially put them out of business. Yes Qantas are threatening to move operations to Asia (which dismays me) but its as plain as the nose on my face that skyrocketing labour costs in Australia have forced this. Happening all over the world. There has to be a better way through this than rolling strikes.

Time for Gillard to wade on in...embarrassing for her on the week of the Commonweatlh Heads meeting!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Good on Qantas they've been hemoraging millions to the unions over the last few weeks, the Australian Unions and Unions in particular need to learn the hard way that they cannot make claims on employers which would potentially put them out of business.

Blimey! It really IS still The Seventies over in Oz! Anyone got any good 'Abo' jokes?

 

[sydney]

Good on Qantas they've been hemoraging millions to the unions over the last few weeks, the Australian Unions and Unions in particular need to learn the hard way that they cannot make claims on employers which would potentially put them out of business. Yes Qantas are threatening to move operations to Asia (which dismays me) but its as plain as the nose on my face that skyrocketing labour costs in Australia have forced this. Happening all over the world. There has to be a better way through this than rolling strikes.

Time for Gillard to wade on in...embarrassing for her on the week of the Commonweatlh Heads meeting!

very touchy subject , we used to be ardent quantas frequent flyers but the demise of the points system and the air miles quota have meant we now fly emirates, cheaper flights , to gatwick , better service to be honest , not detracting from what you have said , this is just another assault on established western airlines by the up and coming central asian consortiums. brand new planes , less maintenance costs........quantas are basically foked i reckon.

 

[sydney]

Blimey! It really IS still The Seventies over in Oz! Anyone got any good 'Abo' jokes?

f*** me son , you should have your own programme on channel DIV.

 

[Captain Sensible]

Qantas is being run into the ground by its CEO. Carbon copy of the BA dispute but this time much bigger. Good on the Employees. Remember the Union is the Employees themselves not some faceless bunch. I gather they are not asking for anything, just trying not to have their jobs destroyed. Qantas is not in Financial trouble, just Bosses trying to screw their Employees. Happening all over the Western world. Just yesterday, 2.6pc rises for workers, 45pc rises for bosses.

 

[Colossal Squid]

Dangerous game. Aviation is a notoriously fickle industry and bigger airlines than Qantas have gone tits up after letting passengers down.

They could well be relying on being bailed out by the Aussie government

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Remember the Union is the Employees themselves

As is the airline.

 

[sydney]

Qantas is being run into the ground by its CEO. Carbon copy of the BA dispute but this time much bigger. Good on the Employees. Remember the Union is the Employees themselves not some faceless bunch. I gather they are not asking for anything, just trying not to have their jobs destroyed. Qantas is not in Financial trouble, just Bosses trying to screw their Employees. Happening all over the Western world. Just yesterday, 2.6pc rises for workers, 45pc rises for bosses.

yeah , which would lead us on to banks.........don't get me started.

 

[Captain Sensible]

As is the airline.

Exactly!

Which is why Bosses need to realise that. Employees want a successful company to work for, the CEO want cuts, cuts more cuts and greed of profit margins. Same as the Willy Walsh tactic. It didn't work for him, and I hope it doesn't work for the Qantas Irish CEO.

 

[Westdene Wonder]

Have the unions obtained Scargills assistance? Dont they realise that if they upset their regular customers they will transfer to other airlines and many will not return.

 

[Captain Sensible]

Have the unions obtained Scargills assistance? Dont they realise that if they upset their regular customers they will transfer to other airlines and many will not return.

Your question should be directed at the CEO, board and shareholders, not the employees who's jobs are on the line and not only that, are the front line of the airline.

 

[tedebear]

Qantas is being run into the ground by its CEO. Carbon copy of the BA dispute but this time much bigger. Good on the Employees. Remember the Union is the Employees themselves not some faceless bunch. I gather they are not asking for anything, just trying not to have their jobs destroyed. Qantas is not in Financial trouble, just Bosses trying to screw their Employees. Happening all over the Western world. Just yesterday, 2.6pc rises for workers, 45pc rises for bosses.

The TWU, the Pilots Union (AIPU) and the Baggage Handlers union are all asking Qantas for a heck of a lot more than nothing, with the Pilots the only ones who haven't been on strike, but if by Monday if they haven't work something out they'll be locked out anyhow.

Joyce is playing with fire - but he's cleverly going to make the Fair Work tibunal get the workforce back to work without having to agree anything. He might lose in the long run but thats a risk he has to take.

 

[Captain Sensible]

The TWU, the Pilots Union (AIPU) and the Baggage Handlers union are all asking Qantas for a heck of a lot more than nothing, with the Pilots the only ones who haven't been on strike, but if by Monday if they haven't work something out they'll be locked out anyhow.

Joyce is playing with fire - but he's cleverly going to make the Fair Work tibunal get the workforce back to work without having to agree anything. He might lose in the long run but thats a risk he has to take.

Fair point, but don't always believe the reasoning behind the industrial relations breakdown. Industrial relations and Strikes and ballots are completely covered in red tape. The reasons that are highlighted are usually not the real issues that force the breakdown. I have experience in the BA cabin crew dispute that ended this year. BA and the media would have you believe that the strikes were over travel perks, when Infact the real reason was about the Crew being replaced by low cost workers, losing their routes and ultimately their jobs. The union were not allowed to site that as a reason as BA and their huge US led union busting law firm would have had a field day in the courts. They would have argued that you can not strike over something that had not actually happened, even though it is right around the corner. So the unions decided to fight the dispute on other grounds. Therefore you never got to hear the real reason. Union busting is exactly what BA attempted and failed, they have left a bit of a mess behind aswell.
My point is that people don't want to strike, it's a horrible thing to do, but when you are backed into a corner, you have no option. So don't always take the view that the shop unions are making demands, maybe that's what Qantas want you to think. Qantas have a history of trying to replace their workforce with cheaper ones. It wouldn't surprise me if that was the reason behind this as well.
Just a thought.

 

[tedebear]

Fair point, but don't always believe the reasoning behind the industrial relations breakdown. Industrial relations and Strikes and ballots are completely covered in red tape. The reasons that are highlighted are usually not the real issues that force the breakdown. I have experience in the BA cabin crew dispute that ended this year. BA and the media would have you believe that the strikes were over travel perks, when Infact the real reason was about the Crew being replaced by low cost workers, losing their routes and ultimately their jobs. The union were not allowed to site that as a reason as BA and their huge US led union busting law firm would have had a field day in the courts. They would have argued that you can not strike over something that had not actually happened, even though it is right around the corner. So the unions decided to fight the dispute on other grounds. Therefore you never got to hear the real reason. Union busting is exactly what BA attempted and failed, they have left a bit of a mess behind aswell.
My point is that people don't want to strike, it's a horrible thing to do, but when you are backed into a corner, you have no option. So don't always take the view that the shop unions are making demands, maybe that's what Qantas want you to think. Qantas have a history of trying to replace their workforce with cheaper ones. It wouldn't surprise me if that was the reason behind this as well.
Just a thought.

But it is the reason! Qantas want ot offshore the maintenance of the newly ordered fleet to Asia! I don't want Qantas to do it either but when your labour force demands higher pay - what choice do you have when its half price somewhere else? Can't the unions see this simple economic facts?

 

[Captain Sensible]

But it is the reason! Qantas want ot offshore the maintenance of the newly ordered fleet to Asia! I don't want Qantas to do it either but when your labour force demands higher pay - what choice do you have when its half price somewhere else? Can't the unions see this simple economic facts?

So the unions demanding huge pay are pushing maintainance out of oz and into Asia meaning job losses? Doesn't quite sound right to me. You would have said the BA reason was travel perks until I just told you otherwise. All I'm saying is don't always believe the company, employees always want a successful company to work for too.

 

[tedebear]

So the unions demanding huge pay are pushing maintainance out of oz and into Asia meaning job losses? Doesn't quite sound right to me. You would have said the BA reason was travel perks until I just told you otherwise. All I'm saying is don't always believe the company, employees always want a successful company to work for too.

I don't think you've read up on the story to be honest. Usually in these case, I believe neither side for what its worth.