30 October 2011

QantasLink is still flying

| johnboy
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Chief Minister Gallagher has joined the chorus of the alarmed as Qantas engages in industrial terrorism on a scale rarely seen.

She does have some useful information:

“QantasLink provides a high percentage of flights to and from Canberra. In addition, Virgin and Brindabella Airlines continue to service Canberra and we are well served by both coach and rail services.

“The Canberra International Airport is an important part of our local economy supporting the employment of hundreds of locals. The ACT Government was in contact with The Canberra International Airport managing director, Mr Stephen Byron, last night to assure him that the we were ready to assist with any support required by the Airport Group throughout this crisis.

“The ACT Government is also liaising with coach operators to see if services can be increased – particularly between Sydney and Canberra,” the Chief Minister said.

Stranded travellers in the ACT who require accommodation, assistance or advice on alternate forms of transport can contact the Canberra and region Visitors Centre on 1300 554 114 or visit www.visitcanberra.com.au. Australian Capital Tourism will work closely with the Tourism Industry Council to assist where possible.

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Bussie said :

Waiting For Godot said :

Australia has the highest wages in the world.

Source or STFU,

A bit of quick googling provides mixed results, but depending on source it seems Australian mean income sits anywhere from 4th to 9th in the world. So maybe not highest in the world, but probably within spitting distance.

Perhaps one of our resident stats specialists can pull out a better answer…?

“Daddy look! It’s a bird! It’s a flying-man-in-a-red-cape! No, its a Qantas!!!!”

“Dont be so silly and childish, Qantas dont fly. Its a flying man in a red cape”

2604 said :

As I recall, when the Bali bombings happened it was Qantas which the government leaned on to ferry survivors home and expatriate the bodies. When Ansett went down, Qantas was expected to step in and fly people around.

Admitted.

2604 said :

It also sponsors the Wallabies and the Australian Children’s Choir. So, I’d say it already does a fair bit for the community.

Good on them, and I bet it comes off their tax as a legitimate business expense – which advertising is.

I’m happy for QANTAS to reduce their cost base so long as it doesn’t come at the expense of safety, and so long as they don’t expect special treatment.

alaninoz said :

Diggety said :

The reason for Qantas not bowing to union demands, is that those very demands would kill the international business.

This is the nature of global competitiveness.

Sure, allow QANTAS to move their operations off-shore, but if they do QANTAS should loose any preferential treatment within Australia. The Government should institute a full nine-freedom open skies policy.

If QANTAS wants to retain preferential treatment then it should return something to the Australian community – not just to its management and owners.

Fair enough.

But with that, Qantas employees (those who remain employees in Oz) will have to take a cut in pay and conditions- down to about the same level of Virgin and JetStar.

Look, I don’t particularly like the fact that Qantas jobs will go off shore, in fact I don’t even like the globalized market we are now having to deal with. But Qantas is a business, not a union killing machine.

Unions, like businesses need to modernize or die.

Waiting For Godot said :

Australia has the highest wages in the world.

Source or STFU,

alaninoz said :

If QANTAS wants to retain preferential treatment then it should return something to the Australian community – not just to its management and owners.

As I recall, when the Bali bombings happened it was Qantas which the government leaned on to ferry survivors home and expatriate the bodies. When Ansett went down, Qantas was expected to step in and fly people around. It also sponsors the Wallabies and the Australian Children’s Choir. So, I’d say it already does a fair bit for the community.

Classified, Geek, Godot, Diggety, CK – you guys are on the money. The unions are driving Qantas down the same ruinous road that Ansett went down. Qantas engineers are already the best paid in the world. Its pilots earn up to $550,000 per year. The remainder of its staff have very generous staff discounts – for life once they’ve worked for the company for more than ten years. I think that most of them will be staring at empty hangars in ten years time, like those former UAW workers in Michigan who’re now looking at the empty factories they once picketed.

Waiting For Godot said :

Australia has the highest wages in the world. That is why the cost of living is so high, and why companies are trying to minimise costs by outsourcing to places like India and sacking workers. It is also the reason why shops here are going broke as the public discovers the same goods selling for much less on foreign websites. Pensioners and the less well-off are suffering the most, and the attitude of the union leaders is “I’m alright, Jack”.

The unions with their selfish and arrogant wage demands over the years are the reason why we are in crisis in this country and why our current lifestyles are unsustainable.

+1

australia is doing well in the current world economic lull but let’s learn a lesson from some other countries’ current economic crises. italian workers obtained sustained high wage increases during the ‘good times’ about a decade ago which quickly made them (and continues to make them) uncompetitive in their regional economy. look at the pain they are in now – on the brink of bankruptcy. i don’t pretend to know the full suite of facts but baggage handlers (pretty much unskilled labour) earning $70-85k/year are rejecting a 3% payrise? come on. and it’s silly to compare them to alan joyce – he is paid the big bucks for a reason, to keep qantas a viable/profitable company. the company shareholders were happy to pay him that much, they voted for it. let’s not forget either that qantas has to compete domestically and globally within a very competitive industry.

Clown Killer5:02 pm 31 Oct 11

“However to literally spit in the face of the people on who QANTAS relies, the paying customer, will I think come back to haunt Mr Joyce”

Literally? Really? I’m a QANTAS customer. A pretty good one too. As far as I’m concerned I am grateful that the airlines management have had the wherewithal to nip this union malarkey in the bud. Good on them.

I should add that I don’t support Alan Joyce or what he did in any way. I think it was despicable and if I saw him in a dark alley, he wouldn’t be walking back out again.

I think both groups are to blame. But there are much bigger issues here than can be suitably discussed in a blog comment and what I think won’t make a lick of difference anyway. After all, I have been saying for years we need to sack all the self-serving clowns that call themselves politicians and replace them with people who actually care, do away with political advertising campaigns and all donations to political parties. Start building governemtns on policy, not who has the best ads or makes less mistakes.

Diggety said :

The reason for Qantas not bowing to union demands, is that those very demands would kill the international business.

This is the nature of global competitiveness.

Sure, allow QANTAS to move their operations off-shore, but if they do QANTAS should loose any preferential treatment within Australia. The Government should institute a full nine-freedom open skies policy.

If QANTAS wants to retain preferential treatment then it should return something to the Australian community – not just to its management and owners.

MarkR said :

qbngeek said :

I personaly think the unions in Australia are the ones who start any so-called ‘industrial terrorism’. They continue to demand massive payrises while the rest of the country goes to hell in a handbasket. They are asking for something that is unsustainable, but they will be the first ones to complain once QANTAS starts offshoring to save money to stay afloat.

Hmmm – well up with what this dispute is about then qbngeek?

1. You don’t consider a 71% payrise (as provided to Mr Joyce) massive then?
2. $5m per annum for one executive doesn’t fall into the unsustainable category then?
3. “… starts offshoring to save money to stay afloat …” – QANTAS has already done so, which is one of the issues under dispute.

While I have no love for unions or their attempts to blackmail the general public, at least they are required to give warning (under the Fair Work Act) of industrial action. The action by QANTAS in giving no warning and literally leaving people stranded on the tarmac is unconscionable.

This will only harm its viability as already I’m seeing comments from many loyal QANTAS patrons who are now saying they will look elsewhere.

I agree that to remain viable in the ever increasing ‘low fare’ market, QANTAS has to look at alternatives – which regrettably includes sourcing cheaper maintenace costs (hopefully not to the detriment of safety). However to literally spit in the face of the people on who QANTAS relies, the paying customer, will I think come back to haunt Mr Joyce.

I only hope that, like Sol Trujillo, Alan Joyce has a substantial payout in his contract for early termination.

I am well aware of what Mr Joyce was paid, and as a QANTAS shareholder I voted against it. I didn’t get a dividend and lost money on my inverstment, so there was no way I was supporting a payrise or bonus for him.

But this crap with unions holding the country to ransom has to stop. I have heard no end to the complaints from thos in the APS about only getting a 9% payrise over 3 years and now they want to take industrial actions. I have heard constant whinging from APS friends about how it is below the inflation rate and that they will all end up in the gutter in three years.Guess what I only get a 3% payrise each year for the next 4 years. The funny thing was the union kept telling everyone to vote our aggreement down and tried to actively recruit in our offices during the negotiation. we still voted for the agreement and the union lost members becuase we were sick of their bully-boy tactics.

Welcome to the real world of smaller payrises and companies starting to stand up for themselves against the unions. It’s time to tighten your belts because the ride is only just beginning.

MarkR said :

However to literally spit in the face of the people on who QANTAS relies, the paying customer, will I think come back to haunt Mr Joyce.
quote]

When did Alan Joyce literally spit in the face of Qantas customers?

People (including the unions) need to understand that they do not own the business, unless they are a shareholder. The shareholders voted for Joyce’s pay rise, i.e. the people who actually matter, approved his salary.

The reason for Qantas not bowing to union demands, is that those very demands would kill the international business.

This is the nature of global competitiveness.

Waiting For Godot3:14 pm 31 Oct 11

Australia has the highest wages in the world. That is why the cost of living is so high, and why companies are trying to minimise costs by outsourcing to places like India and sacking workers. It is also the reason why shops here are going broke as the public discovers the same goods selling for much less on foreign websites. Pensioners and the less well-off are suffering the most, and the attitude of the union leaders is “I’m alright, Jack”.

The unions with their selfish and arrogant wage demands over the years are the reason why we are in crisis in this country and why our current lifestyles are unsustainable.

qbngeek said :

I personaly think the unions in Australia are the ones who start any so-called ‘industrial terrorism’. They continue to demand massive payrises while the rest of the country goes to hell in a handbasket. They are asking for something that is unsustainable, but they will be the first ones to complain once QANTAS starts offshoring to save money to stay afloat.

Hmmm – well up with what this dispute is about then qbngeek?

1. You don’t consider a 71% payrise (as provided to Mr Joyce) massive then?
2. $5m per annum for one executive doesn’t fall into the unsustainable category then?
3. “… starts offshoring to save money to stay afloat …” – QANTAS has already done so, which is one of the issues under dispute.

While I have no love for unions or their attempts to blackmail the general public, at least they are required to give warning (under the Fair Work Act) of industrial action. The action by QANTAS in giving no warning and literally leaving people stranded on the tarmac is unconscionable.

This will only harm its viability as already I’m seeing comments from many loyal QANTAS patrons who are now saying they will look elsewhere.

I agree that to remain viable in the ever increasing ‘low fare’ market, QANTAS has to look at alternatives – which regrettably includes sourcing cheaper maintenace costs (hopefully not to the detriment of safety). However to literally spit in the face of the people on who QANTAS relies, the paying customer, will I think come back to haunt Mr Joyce.

I only hope that, like Sol Trujillo, Alan Joyce has a substantial payout in his contract for early termination.

I personaly think the unions in Australia are the ones who start any so-called ‘industrial terrorism’. They continue to demand massive payrises while the rest of the country goes to hell in a handbasket. They are asking for something that is unsustainable, but they will be the first ones to complain once QANTAS starts offshoring to save money to stay afloat.

Union officials have indicated that there would be ongoing industrial action, and ticket sales were down as many travellers didn’t want to get stuck on a day when stop work meetings were happening. Qantas has now taken a big stick and brought the thing to a head, thus removing the ability of the unions involved to carry on such actions.

At least now it will be resolved and qantas can get on with doing business.

Thoroughly Smashed10:59 am 31 Oct 11

Classified said :

the union getting a big dose of its own medicine.

How do you figure?

caf said :

Referring to “the” union shows that you haven’t bothered to inform yourself of even the most cursory details of this dispute.

Sorry – the three major unions involved.

I wonder how many of these ‘stranded’ folk are actually just going to Sydney so could get there just as quickly in a hire car?

Referring to “the” union shows that you haven’t bothered to inform yourself of even the most cursory details of this dispute.

Nothing can stop Dash-8s. NOTHING.

Industrial terrorism – pfff. What’s got people cranky is the union getting a big dose of its own medicine.

staminaman627:56 pm 30 Oct 11

“Industrial terrorism” that is perfectly legal under the Fair Work Act!

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