Since its pilots voted overwhelmingly to support any union call for lawful or protected industrial action Qantas management has started arguing with its pilots about its plans to restructure the airline group rather than their pay claims for a tiny 2.5 per cent three year pay deal.
This may prove to be a game losing own goal.
To boil down the management response it is that union demands that all Qantas pilots be trained to current Qantas standards and have their jobs paid and located in Australia are “excessive and unsustainable” and a “veto on change.”
Hullo Treasury, the ATO, and members of parliaments? Can you drag your heads out of the trough in the Qantas Chairmans Lounges long enough to digest something more important than your perks?
This is dangerous ground for Qantas, given that this implies that current piloting culture of excellence is unaffordable, and that jobs sent abroad will somehow translate into bigger profits at a time when mismanagement continues to drive a shrinking Qantas market share further toward oblivion.
The notion that a smaller Qantas, but one increasingly augmented by Qantas controlled and financed entities flown and serviced by labor paid under Asian terms and conditions, is going to be a better Qantas, has become the real issue in this dispute.
The Australian and International Pilots Association has wedged management by taking on the role of defending public perceptions of Qantas excellence rather than promoting their claims for improved pay and conditions.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce has already committed himself to a wide ranging restructuring announcement on August 24, the day it reports its full year to June 30 results to shareholders who haven’t had a dividend for two years.
Joyce’s frequent claims that Qantas international is unsustainable and his equally frequent brushing aside of requests for disclosure as to how much that situation reflects the paying of costs associated with the Jetstar franchise can be read alongside claims by Jetstar group CEO, Bruce Buchanan, that lower paid lower experience pilots are better than those whose pay and conditions reflect a much more costly company investment in safety standards and professional experience.
Joyce was the CEO of Jetstar when it nearly destroyed an airliner in 2007 because it improperly changed and consequently degraded the standard operating procedures for a missed approach in its A320 fleet, one of which then nearly flew into the ground in fog trying to climb away from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport with the engines set to reduced rather than go-around thrust settings.
In his own public guidance Joyce has talked up the merits of offshore alliances, ventures and service agreements, all of which remove from the direct control of Qantas those very things the public expect it to uphold, and which obviously threaten union jobs too.
After the very serious QF32 incident on November 4 last year, in which a defective Rolls-Royce engine disintegrated and severely damaged an Airbus A380, Joyce attacked the engine maker for its secrecy in not telling Qantas things it knew about that engine, and about its decision to ‘fix’ the deficiencies in its own sweet time.
Yet Joyce continues to support such service agreements, where Qantas saves money, but is at the mercy of service failures by third parties that are replacing its own maintenance and engineering facilities and their decades of experience.
Similarly the airline is resisting Qantas pilot concerns that the carrier’s professional piloting standards are being traded in for external providers of pilots, some of whom will replace Australian pilots by being based somewhere in Asia, and flying to and from this country and then onwards to Europe and other destinations.
In what has been interpreted in pilot ranks as an effort to reduce redundancy costs in the impending August 24 restructure, Qantas last week told its pilots that they could apply for leave without absence for three years to fly as first officers for Emirates, its most aggressive and successful long haul competitor.
For travellers uninterested in labor-management disputes, this is also a row about what Qantas will be in the future. Will it continue to be ‘the Spirit of Australia’, and will it continue to chest beat over being the national flag carrier when more of its experienced pilots are flying for foreign carriers, having been replaced by lower paid, less experienced foreign pilots?
It is a very perverse outlook. Experienced Qantas pilots forced abroad, to strengthen the likes of Emirates and Singapore Airlines, while the pilots they reject get hired by Qantas Asian franchises because they are cheap, inexperienced and supposedly good for the bottom line.
This report appeared in the Crikey subscriber Daily Mail earlier today
22 Comments
Lets hope the Government and the shareholders see sense and Joyce is the one made redundant. Mind you he will walk with millions.
I was just reading how Gina Rinehart is lobbying to have a special economic zone for a new mine project in Queensland that will allow her to fly in Foreign labour as they see fit, to the exclusion of Australian employees. Qantas represents the thin edge of the wedge of business trying to find the cheapest wage at all costs regardless of the effects on the Australian economy and importing and exploiting cheaper Asian labour wherever possible. This should have ended long ago with the exploitation in the sugar cane fields.
Government must act.
So how do we get the right people to take notice and stop this madness?
Ben,
Any chance you can offer yourself up for an in depth interview on 7pm project or ACA or negus? They need you help Ben. It would be great to see you offer up your knowledge.
A forensic audit would be a good start (if it hasn’t started already!).
One would hope that shareholders/investors don’t fall for smoke and mirrors. An entire workforce is ready to revolt, engagement is low, but loyalty to the ‘Spirit’ and it’s survival is at an all time high. This speaks volumes.
Spot on as always Ben.
Ben, you might also like to make some enquiries as to why the EK LWOP offer collapsed on Monday afternoon, 48 hours after it was announced. Not sure if it was a coincidence it happened to be the same afternoon the ballot results were announced or it was just another screw up in a long list.
So far as I can tell Qantas was embarrassed by the notice leaking out. But it doesn’t change anything. As I understand it, this won’t change the outcome except that any Qantas pilots who are fired as the result of the restructuring will receive a payout from Qantas and then apply for positions in a growing airline with a modern fleet and a very useful network.
As usual Ben, a very thoughtful and well considered article.
Considering the news that the Qantas sponsored pilot transfer to Emirates has fallen through, perhaps instead Joyce, Buchanan et al could be sent up to ‘fix’ Emirates.
This initiative would surely improve management at Qantas and simultaneously drastically reduce the threat posed by Emirates to our national carrier.
Is Alan Joyce really behind the relentless attacks on the LAMEs, and the pilots? Or is his direction coming from higher up – the same person who busted the union at Rio Tinto?
Ben, just a comment about your last post. If any compulsory redundancies occur in QF mainline, they will happen from the bottom of the seniority list up. The most junior pilots are second officers, almost all of whom wouldn’t have the minimum jet F/O time that Emirates requires. These pilots, if made redundant, would find their options very limited, and might be forced to take up sub standard conditions in any QF/Jetstar asian entity as their only means of keeping a job.
There’s a subtlety that’s being missed in the claim that the ‘real issue’ pilots are concerned about is jobs moving offshore to Asia at ‘Asian terms and conditions’. In fact, if you spend any time around pilots, you realise that their main concern (quite understandably) is their career trajectory: namely the speed at which they can move to the left seat on bigger aircraft. Hour-per-negotiating hour this the most important industrial grievance, but seems to be rarely discussed outside the airlines themselves. Blaming everything on ‘offshoring’ is somewhat naive and it would be helpful if more public commentary (from both the unions, the airlines and the media) reflected this fact.
PeteyBoy
Not sure if I agree with you re main pilot concerns.
As a 14 year Qantas pilot and first officer, yes I would
have expected and preferred to have been presented
with an opportunity for command by now. Clearly Jetstar
and Jet Connect have impacted on our collective
expectations and that is of concern to all Qantas pilots.
However make no mistake, the recent PIA ballot is all
about keeping jobs here in Australia. Personally I will be
happy to retire as a first officer if I can continue to
work and live here.
Also as a group, Qantas pilots feel a collective responsibility
to our junior colleagues, who now face the very real threat
of job losses.
This is one of the reason Qantas pilots feel so disheartened- while they are being forced to use up all their leave…and QANTAS/Jetstar are Still actively employing!
Posted without comment. Received from Rishworth this morning.
[QUOTE]Dear Xxx
*
We are delighted to advise that we have today commenced recruiting A320 Line Captains and First Officers for Jetstar Airways Ltd (New Zealand).
*
We expect that this opportunity* will be attractive for those pilots who currently live and work outside of Australasia and are considering returning for lifestyle/ family reasons, and those pilots considering changing fleet types – JetStar welcomes applications from non type rated pilots as well as those who have the A320 type rating.
*
Successful candidates MUST have the right to live and work in New Zealand (Australian passport holders are welcome to apply) and meet the minimum criteria outlined below.
*
As the aircraft are Australian registered, New Zealand ATPL holders will need to convert their licenses to Australian. This is a simple administrative process and we can provide advice around this.
*
Remuneration includes: Base payment, Sign-On Bonus, Retention bonus, Flight/Layover Allowances and Work Day Off Payments (all payments are in NZ$)
*
Base: New Zealand, Auckland (AKL) and Christchurch (CHC)
*
Term: Permanent[/QUOTE]
This whole affair with the Pilots & Engineers has become a very bad joke….nice one AJ…
Peteyboy, the point you make in your comment is wrong. As a Qantas second officer I resigned myself to no career progression years ago. At this stage all I hope for is to be able to keep my job, I’d even take a paycut or accept a position at Jetstar ( especially since they are still recruiting). For some reason none of these options are available to me.
Ben, great article as usual. Your insightful writing on this issue gives me hope. Thanks.
I’m one of many who over the years, has laboured long and hard in advertising, building the Qantas brand. Decades ago, at Monahan Dayman Adams Advertising, we helped build “The Flying Kangaroo” campaign. In the days of Sir Lennox Hewitt , George Howling and Ian Burns-Woods when the Board had aviation and operational experience, not mining chappies, bankers and little men with ego problems.
When QF so proudly flew to many great destinations, with a strong quality and service ethos not undermined by mean-spirited bean counters paid large bonuses for yet another money saving idea.
both my neighbours worked on Qantas advertising accounts too, one a famous old ad man at a much earlier time. We all had a huge sense of pride in what we did, we worked hard for the QF client management who were people of integrity and vision. John Borghetti was there, working his way up, even then. Yes, times change and they must but even we three feel a huge mix of anger, frustration and sadness at what is happening. (Yet another ‘Mexican’, destroying yet another Australian icon). Decades later, I have a long haul pilot as my partner so I can say, as I also hear a good deal of the inside story, most of you are spot on, thanks especially to Kate – and Ben for this forum and his excellent reports.
As per Dennis yesterday at 5.17pm and Seven 3Seven at 6.20pm, it really is time for action against this useless Board and management. Yes, AIPA needs a stronger PR agency (surely someone could give that some thought) but the pilots and engineers plus the good people in QF, need outside help (outside of this and other more closed forums) to focus maximum PUBLIC attention on this whole sad and sorry saga . We need to force the rest of the media to pay attention and start reporting. We need the regular investigative pieces. If awareness grows and there is stronger public debate, then perhaps those Treasury, MP and ATO snouts in the Chairman’s Lounge will also have to pay attention to this appalling situation.
I’d willingly put a message on a T-shirt, parade with sandwich boards outside QCC1 if I thought I could start some media attention. (Yes, my partner would probably kill me!) I’d even put decent $$$ towards double page spreads in major press to communicate a variety of quotes and timeline facts. We really do need George Negus and Kerry O’Brien to shine that very bright spotlight by interviewing you Ben and some willing long haul pilots, in a major expose. We need the Board in the public hot seat. All we seem to be getting in the public domain is the QF management PR rubbish by ‘friendly’ journos (along with the negative dross from SLF’s) when what is needed is a blowtorch and an event which will start the ball rolling. Who could do this? (Lady Gaga, where are you? Just joking!) What would it take? I wish there was some fighting fund or philanthropist who felt as strongly as many of us do.
And many of us are not QF staff or even connected to them. I’ve read some great postings in recent times by Air Traffic Controllers, a pilot’s daughter, recently retired staff who had been with the company for years, ex flight attendants and loyal FFs. Surely we can collate this energy and obvious experience, business and otherwise and turn tears into an effective combative strategy.
Sorry for the rave, I’m a newbie here and need to get this off my chest.
kiwidale, great post AIPA needs AD people like you to get the message out about what they and the engineers are fighting for!!
If only Qantas had kept JB, but unfortunately he was not part of Dixon’s agenda therefore Joyce got the gig.
Just got off a Qantas International flight, and the general comment from pax was ” it’s lovely to hear an Aussie accent…”. It’s a pity that Joyce is determined to undermine the airline to such an extent that it may never again be able to refer to itself as “The Spirit of Australia”. The reason why the Qantas legacy was one of engineering and safety excellence (it may not be any longer….thanks Dixon and Joyce!) is because it had well trained and highly motivated staff and crew…of many colours and persuasions, but almost all Australians or Australian residents. Joyce is bent on catering to the lowest common denominator and driving QF towards the JQ model, and this is economic folly. Car makers (eg Daimler Benz) acknowledge that the margins on the low cost models are very low and most profit is gained at the top end, yet Joyce repeats the mantra that QF International is ‘unprofitable’…show us the books! Show us where Jetstar pays it’s own bills and pays for all it’s aircraft with it’s own earnings…or is management fudging the books to make JQ look good and QF look bad.
Truly, the politicians in Canberra should wake up. Too many industries (including the highly profitable resources sector) are exporting jobs/importing labour to the detriment of Australia. Why are these companies NOT training young Australians? Why are Australians not entitled to a career where remuneration and conditions are decent (executives remuneration is obscene by comparison to employees!)?
For those of you who think the abuse of the ’457 Visa’ is a great idea, where are your children going to get a job if profitable companies continue to be allowed to bring in cheap labour? (BTW…I believe the use of 457 visas was championed by the previous coalition government…).
A question being asked by a loyal qantas pilot looking down the barrel…
“Can someone explain the legalities to me of the possibility of possible redundancies in mainline while Jetstar recruits hand over fist please?
Up to this point there have been none in mainline through leave etc but post Aug 24th if we see redundacies how does this fit with the same company employing people to do the same job whilest making others redundant?
Thanks in advance.”
Good point Dennis
That is some thing I am unable to understand they act like one company when it suits them but will not allow pilots to move across.
They will move any asset and service between the two bodies so why not people.
The legality of the redundancies will hopefully be challenged.
It’s interesting that QANTAS spokeswoman Olivia Wirth keeps saying the pilots are asking for two free trips per year on top of the already heavily discounted flights they and other QF staff already enjoy. She has been telling untruths now for some time. Ben, try contacting her and AIPA’s Richard Woodman or Barry Jackson and get to the bottom of how she blatantly can do this knowing it not to be the case. You’ll find that AIPA does not have this on the table for negotiation at all and she knows it. QF sent an email to all non pilot staff last week saying the same thing to sway them against the pilots. Since when has lying constantly to the Australian public been seen as OK without any media challenge? There’s enough public documentation out there to prove she and her boss have been telling untruths since this all started up.
Qantas is managed by a large number of ex-Ansett corporate yes-men. Whilst they reduce services at the flying end of the business they build up fat empires in head office. Qantas is in the early to mid stages of its demise and nothing can stop it.