It’s possible that the general media might start to notice how ‘weird’ the Qantas strike situation really is after today’s developments.
Qantas was so certain that it would at last get a great big strike that it placed large ‘We’re sorry’ ads in this morning’s papers for those who still get their news in print.
Yet this could hardly have been done to inform its frequent flyers most of whom have been kept fully informed about rescheduled bookings and cancelled flights using social media and text messages, something the airline has done so well that comparatively little inconvenience has been done to travellers throughout the four months war of words that has been fought between Qantas and its long haul pilots, its licensed aircraft engineers and its ground staff.
The result was that about 11,000 people (according to Qantas) were never going to turn up as originally booked for the dozens of flights that the airline had cancelled or deferred today in anticipation of a strike action that was in fact called off about three hours before members of its licensed engineers union were to begin four hour stop works in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Yet again, all that television reporters had to show in their reports from assorted Qantas terminals today were nearly empty buildings and vignettes of spokesperson Olivia Wirth trying to keep a straight face while railing against the chaos that was nowhere to be seen.
Which ought to eventually cause people to ask ‘what is really going on?’
There are three sets of action underway at Qantas authorized by Fair Work Australia after the respective unions met all of the tests of negotiating in good faith with management in seeking timely negotiated enterprise bargaining outcomes.
In law each these unions can only take court sanctioned protected industrial action, and so far, they have been reluctant to do so.
There are the Qantas long haul pilots, who have limited their actions to wearing atrocious red ties (made in China) and making in flight announcements in support of the truth in advertising notion that all Qantas flights should be flown by Qantas pilots trained to Qantas standards.
There are the ground staff, mainly baggage handlers, who have held the odd stop work meeting, and there are the licensed engineers, who in terms of network punctuality, perform crucial operational maintenance.
The media seems to have forgotten that these are the same engineers who banned overtime off and on for around three months in 2008, but in particular, in May and June of that year, and broke the resolve of Qantas under previous CEO Geoff Dixon, when the airline gave in to their previous set of pay claims, which on expiry, have given rise to the current dispute.
That previous licensed engineers dispute did seriously dislocate domestic and international Qantas passengers. Aware of the safety risks involved in deferred line maintenance of the type that the licensed engineers had been performing during compulsory overtime, Qantas meticulously reviewed the engineering status of each flight during that prolonged 2008 dispute to avoid sending off jets that might be carrying both a permitted defect in engine thrust reversers and a permitted defect in a wheel brake, which if present on the same jet, might have combined during a wet landing or other abnormal situation to cause a disaster.
As a result, the airline kept hundreds of thousands of passengers in a state of chaos for many weeks on end. Three years ago, and already forgotten.
The problem with the premature Qantas ‘We’re Sorry’ ads today is that they try to associate what management calls ‘unsustainable losses’ in its full service long haul brand with union actions that haven’t happened, when all of the damage that is already apparent in the international operations of Qantas can be blamed on poor management.
Qantas long haul has resolutely declined to less than one sixth of the international market because it refused to fly one stop services in modern fuel and maintenance efficient airliners to European and Asian centres in competition with Singapore Airline, Cathay Pacific, Thai International and Emirates. It created those opportunities for its competitors by sticking with a dysfunctional arrangement with British Airways that assumed Australians would tolerate an extra half day via London to get to places smarter competitors realized were there for the taking.
The latest stroke of genius from Qantas management has been to give away half of its capacity to London six months before next year’s Olympics to mid point connections with British Airways flights in Bangkok or Hong Kong, some of which involve gaps of up to five hours between flights while Qantas switches focus to a new venture in China, Singapore, Malaysia or who knows where, with a name like Red Q, which will pretend to be a flag carrier of the new host country in order to take market share from such inept and defenceless local brands as Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines.
It would be laughable in a comedy skit. But it’s the game plan of the current Qantas management, and its going to be flown in single aisle A320s, which can’t even fly non-stop between Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and Sydney or Melbourne anyhow.
The worst result for Qantas in its efforts to convince the public that it is all the fault of the unions that the airline is in such a mess is that it might start to lose credibility, especially with its shareholders.
Unless someone blinks these disputes will inevitably be resolved by compulsory arbitration, which means that the claims being made for job security by the license engineers and pilots will be dismissed as outside the court’s jurisdiction, while the pay rise and productivity components will be applied in part or full.
ABC TV reports this morning also claimed incorrectly that Qantas was in dispute with customs and immigration officials at international terminals. This is nonsense. That dispute is between a public service association and a Federal department, and affects all airlines.
11 Comments
Ben You’re a gifted writer – I read you every day. But could I suggest you stop bagging Qantas for a moment, and focus on the actual issue here. The long haul pilots and licensed engineers are incredibly well paid by any standards – and they want more. And they want to veto anything that might risk their cosy little arrangement. How ever do you expect an airline in open competition with the big boys of world aviation to be able to keep doing that ?? I found the contents of that Qantas website really revealing. I would be interested in your views as to why Qantas should pay more to pilots than Virgin pays and so on
This Qantas disinformation campaign brings us back to the discussion of whether the unions sent death threats to Qantas management or Qantas management did that itself, in order to report it to the authorities, blame it on the unions and make itself appear sympathetic.
Andrew,
You have a point. I haven’t given any time to current Qantas pilot pay scales nor those of management, a management that believes it is worth four times as much as that of Cathay Pacific for example.
But we should also ask, how overpaid was crew of QF 32 last November or QF 72 when it made it to Learmonth?
You may well be right on this. But the issue that really exercises my mind is that of training and standards, and while it isn’t really linked to actual pay, it is linked in the case of Qantas to a determined agenda to dismantle the unaffordability of excessive excellence. I might well be wrong in accepting pilot claims that they are prepared to talk about pay and anything else to keep the airline strong in standards and training, but I then get to the position in which Qantas tells the pilots it doesn’t matter what they say, it isn’t listening.
Again Ben, nice piece
Reading the News this morning, it’s interesting to see Jetstar check in staff are also taking industrial action this Friday, by not collecting excess baggage fees from customers.
Let’s see , Long Haul pilots, Licensed Engineers , Baggage Handlers , Catering Staff & now Jetstar check in staff…….who’s next the customers…!
As Joyce advised the board upon his appointment as CEO ,
“Communication and engagement of staff is one critical area I would look at. Making sure that we improve communication and build on staff engagement is something I would be fairly keen on.”……..(The Australian, October 18, 2008)
As in “my way” or “the highway” engagement………?
So Qantas Senior Management put ads in the paper for a strike they claim was going to affect thousands while at the same time the thousands had been advised by the company of altered plans which reduced the severity of the impact. All this was planned while enjoying recent pay increases that ensures “a management that believes it is worth four times as much as that of Cathay Pacific for example.”
I don’t know enough about the airline industry to know if anyone is being overpaid here – but Senior Management payrises being implemented while they are in disputes over pay with key employee groups is insensitive at best or deliberately provocative at worst. Either way, you can’t have it both ways (pay yourself and deny your employees).
Andrew Graham, I agree that comments on the QANTAS website really revealing. In particular these:
The total cost of the ALAEA’s claim is $165 million – plus $95 million to build a new hangar. Details of the EBA claim from the ALAEA include:
- Around 15 per cent increase in wages and allowances over three years. The remuneration package of the average licensed engineer would be around $170,000 in January 2013 if we agreed to the ALAEA’s claim.
I can’t calculate the total cost (although in my experience that can vary dramatically depending on how you calculate it) but the ALAEA claim appears to be for 3% and this had been tacitly agreed earlier in negotiations
- A guarantee that no changes be made to current work practices including changes which improve productivity or that are in line with developments in modern aircraft technology.
This is a fairly standard claim across Australia. I doubt QANTAS is concerned about this as a claim and the eventual clause which is agreed or arbitrated will be less restrictive. The characterisation on the QANTAS site seems unreasonable to me but I’ve only got 26 years IR experience. Most Australian industrial agreements contain a change clause. Some are more restrictive some less so but it’s pretty common.
- Introduction of a time serving classification structure where workers receive additional pay increases based on years of service rather than merit or qualifications.
Time-based advancement is almost universal in Australian industrial arrangements. The concept that a person’s skills, knowledge and ability increase over time is a well accepted part of Ausralian industrial relations. It recognises that your value to the business also increases over time. As far as I can see merit and quaifications will still be components of the wage structure so this comment appears specious at best
It’s also worth looking at the ALAEA site Andrew. It provides the other side of the argument and makes some interesting comment about Joyce’s pay (up 71%) and the failure of QF management to source third party maintenance work. A bit self serving perhaps but it comes across as altogether more honest than Olivier Wirth’s performances.
The union’s jujitsu move, faking out Qantas management and making management look ill-informed and unprepared to deal with NOT having a strike, is brilliant. Look for more of this labour making management look silly and out of it while management is busy demonizing labour.
It is management’s task to provide leadership which rises above this childishness.
Andrew Graham and SBH
Your first mistake was to go to the Qantas website, and your second mistake was to believe anything that Qantas says.
Qantas management are complete liars desperately trying to cover up their mismanagement and corporate greed.
All the engineers want is 5% over 2 years, and an assurance that Qantas engineers will continue to maintain the Qantas fleet to the high standards that it already is (was).
All the pilots want is basically the same.
Whats the point of getting a payrise if your job will be in soon?
Australia wake up and smell the roses!
Qantas management are killing a national icon, not the staff and the unions.
Good luck the the Qantas staff, they are going to need it.