Posters demanding massive intervention from Julia Gillard's Govt. might do well to refresh their memories as to what happened when the Hawke Govt. intervened in the 1989 Pilots strike - not pretty folks; losers all round really.
In my view Qantas is an increasingly inept company. Its inability to effectively manage its transition to a more diversifed airline, fuel hedging, fleet replacement schedule, maintenance issues & even its own workforce has degenerated into a national crisis.
Its airline service has been decaying for years while executives recently inserted their snouts in the trough & have now spat the dummy at Qantas' own highly skilled & loyal Australian workforce.
The very same workforce that has prevented many Qantas planes from falling from the sky & which has been alerting us to increasing Qantas safety issues for years.
In my dreams or is that nightmare:
. Step 1 - Govt. requires FWA to immediately convene a compulsory meeting of the Qantas Mgt & the Unions involved. If a negotiated outcome is agreed then that's it. . Step 2 - If a negotiated outcome is not agreed FWA will determine the outcome & enforce that outcome on all parties. . Step 3 - If Qantas refuses to abide by such determination it's status as a company in Australia should be revoked; worker entitlements paid out, assets sold & remaining equity returned to shareholders. . Step 4 - If any of the unions refuse to abide by the agreement / determination they should be deregistered & alternative workforce arrangements made until normality returns.
Qantas workers appear to have lost complete faith & trust in Alan Joyce - he must be jettisoned asap, along with the most obdurate of the union leaders with whom he has been sparring.
