qantas hero pilot backs qantas management!

Great article - I suppose you will be telling this guy doesn't know what he's talking about either hey?


Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny, who last year safely landed an A380-jet after its engine exploded shortly after takeoff from Singapore, has broken ranks with his colleagues, supporting Qantas in its stoush with unions The Australian reported.

The pilots' union is appealing in the Federal Court against Fair Work Australia's decision to stop Qantas industrial action, claiming it wrongfully ruled against members who had only taken minor action.

Captain de Crespigny told The Australian he was a member of the Australian and International Pilots Association, but did not take part in the industrial campaign.

"No pilot has job security," he said. "I never presume that I have job security. My job is to fly the plane so the passengers are safe," Mr de Crespigny said.

Captain de Crespigny also told The Australian that the airline's future lies in Asia.

"If we have a higher cost base than our competitors, then we need to be more efficient. The opportunity to move some of the services into Asia where the market is booming, and have a hub and spoke (operation) out of Asia, makes sense. This growth will open up opportunities for pilots and engineers.

"I absolutely support Australian jobs but you can't necessarily expect 100 per cent of work to be conducted in Australia," Captain de Crespigny said, according to The Australian.

The Australian International and Pilots Association (AIPA) launched proceedings before the Full Court of the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday.

The union said the only industrial action members had taken against Qantas before it grounded its airline last month was to wear red ties and make short announcements on the aircraft broadcasting system before takeoff.

Qantas's move to lockout staff was a "disproportionate" response to such minor action, the union said.

The union's solicitor David Taylor said the action taken by the pilots had no impact on the airline or on the national economy.

He said there were three unions - AIPA, the Transport Workers Union and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association - taking action against Qantas.

The full bench of Fair Work Australia had failed to consider whether Qantas's action against the pilots was in direct response to their minor action of wearing ties and making announcements.

"Qantas, in undertaking the industrial action it undertook, responded to actions from other unions and not to industrial action taken by the pilots," Mr Taylor told AAP.

"No passenger was delayed, no flight cancelled.

"It was having no impact on the economy, was having no impact on Qantas's business and the evidence was indeed, that during the period of the pilots' industrial action, Qantas bookings had increased."

Mr Taylor said the Fair Work decision to terminate the pilots' ability to take industrial action was a "significant abrogation" of their rights.

He said negotiations between the union and the airline would continue as normal.

Fair Work Australia terminated industrial action at Qantas on October 3l, after the airline grounded all its aircraft amid a dispute with unions over pay, conditions and job security.

The tribunal gave the parties 21 days to reach agreement or face arbitration.

Workplace Relations Minister Chris Evans said the government would oppose the legal application to try and overturn the FWA decision.

"We think it's the right decision, we think it's legally sound and we will be very strongly arguing it remain," Senator Evans told the Nine Network.

"We don't want any suggestion that there'll be a return to industrial action at Qantas."

Opposition workplace relations spokesman Eric Abetz said the appeal would insert a great degree of uncertainty into the future of the dispute and lead to further dislocation in the aviation market.

Senator Abetz said he doubted the government's confidence on the robustness of its industrial laws.

The Transport Workers Union has also revealed it was in talks with the ACTU about a possible challenge to the ruling but no final decision had been made.

Senator Evans said the government would defend the laws if the TWU challenge went ahead.

TWU boss Tony Sheldon said there were issues of broader importance to all Australian workers at stake.

"The issues raised in the Qantas matter, whether a company can single-handedly and without notice cause widescale economic harm and immediately put the employment of more than 35,000 employees in doubt, has consequences for all working people and their families," Mr Sheldon said in a statement.