what really happens at qantas ??, page-4

mike -au1,

News for you. There is very little overtime at QAN any more and job losses have already occurred. The ground handling contracts with client airlines have also been mostly sent to others such as Menzies. In fact, from what I am told, things are down to a bare minimum at QAN and have been for some time. This is one of the prime reasons why the TWU and others have decided on strike action. In my opinion, management have knowingly forced this issue with little regard for the workers and financial impact that it will have on QAN. QAN continues to refuse to come to the bargaining table with the TWU and offer some kind of pay/condition increase for its staff, and at the same time offers a 71% pay increase for Alan Joyce, a man who by the way, is not exactly on struggle street. A slight kick in the face I would have thought.

The cost of living is increasingly becoming more expensive, especially for those on wages that are not in the millions, and as the company seeks to increase its share of the cake in the form of profits, the workers also have a right to try and increase their share of the cake through a wage rise. The only way to fight a company that continues to do its best to offshore or outsource jobs is to hold industrial action so this is where we are at now. QAN should have learnt through the last debacle with the Engineers that continually denying the workforce a valid pay rise will cost even more in the form of strikes, lost business and customer loyalty. Is this being responsible to the thousands of investors who have parted with their hard earned to buy shares in a company that is so arrogant that they will not offer any dividends to shareholders, even with a half Billion $ profit?

A harmonious management that can acknowledge a job well done by a staff under pressure every day would give a pay rise when warranted and the benefits of a happy workforce would come back to them 3 fold (IMO). Point being, current management has failed to look after the workers in a fair and reasonable manner and if you do this long enough, there will be trouble in the ranks, guaranteed. QAN's, determined resolve to offshore all they can or outsource jobs to those willing to accept lousy part-time/casual jobs is pathetic. Personally, I would rather see this whole sorry saga come to a head one way or the other, at least then the company will either crash and burn or soar with a change in management(I am hoping the latter is the case). Perhaps the unions should all stick together as one and fight to the end, that might then force the hand of the board at some point to sack the lot of these greedy, hypocritical executives.

WARNING TO ALL SHAREHOLDERS: Take a careful look at the background of all of the Qantas Board, you will see that it is a cosy and lucrative gravy train for those who have connections in high places. More frightening than this though is the fact that most of them have held executive positions at either Air NZ/and or Ansett in the past and we all know how that ended! Will be very interesting to see how this one pans out.

Surfrat.