QANTAS grounds fleet and locks out employees.

[straightpilot]

[Mig29]

HAHAHAHA nice touch

but let's get back to the discussion...

[cgzro]

.Contrary to your idea, I would do everything in my power to keep our airline alive! That means trying to work together on a solution to keep it financially and economically healthy. Giving CEO and upper management suits a raise, while demanding concessions and financial 'discipline' from employees doesn't fly with me. Either we are all on board or one of us is going home!

The way the system works is that to have influence you need to own a bit of the company. So buy stocks and vote as a block. if enough employees buy stock you can have a substantial vote.

Presumably the owners voted. Thd Ceo does not give himself a raise the board does and that usually means the owners voted. So get in on the vote. For example right now with Air Canadas low stock price the employees could buy in substantially.

Any other solution requires overcomming basic ownership rights.

[arctic ocean]

Here's the issues according to the Sydney Morning Herald

Australian and International Pilots Association
No outsourcing of jobs
2.5 per cent pay increase, each year, for three years
Industrial action so far limited to public relations, advertising and in-flight announcements

Transport Workers Union (representing ground staff, baggage handlers and catering staff)
same industrial agreement for all Qantas workers who are TWU members
access to independent umpire
No outsourcing of jobs
Job security
5 per cent pay rise per year, with additional 1 per cent in superannuation protected against rise in CPI

Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association
Engineer jobs to stay in Australia – no offshoring
5.33 per cent pay rise (wages plus allowances), every year, for three years
Tenure-based pay scale.
Mandatory consultation on new technology and a say on training

Qantas
Rejection of unions claim
TWU members paid 12 per cent higher than their equivalents at Virgin
Pilots earn 50 per cent more than peers at Virgin
Unions want to be paid to do work that no longer exists with advent of new aircraft
Not one job will go as a result of Qantas expanding to Asia
In modern world, no company can promise a job for life
Job security comes with running a strong business

[Joe Blow Schmo]

Those that ignore history are bound to relive it.

During Lorenzo's tenure, Eastern was crippled by severe labor unrest. Asked to accept deep cuts in pay and benefits, on March 4, 1989 Frank Lorenzo locked out Eastern's mechanics and ramp service employees, represented by the IAM (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers).

Concerned that if Lorenzo was successful in breaking the IAM he would do the same to the pilots' and flight attendants' unions, the pilots represented by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association) and flight attendants represented by TWU (Transport Workers Union) called a sympathy strike. Those actions effectively shut down the airline's domestic operations. Due to the lockout and sympathy strike flights were canceled, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in revenue.

As a result of the strike, weakened airline structure, inability to compete after deregulation and other financial problems, Eastern filed for bankruptcy protection on March 9, 1989.

The management in the Miami-Dade county headquarters agreed to shut down Eastern. The airline stopped flying at midnight Saturday, January 19, 1991.

Nope, nothing to learn from that.

On the contrary, there is a lot to learn from that! How about changing the laws to prevent corporate raiders and large investors from enriching themselves at the expense of thousands of employees.

I love the tired rhetoric that if it's not unrestrained capitalism, then it must be communism. They are the two extremes. Both sound pretty good in theory, but neither work well in practice. There's a lot of middle ground between the two where we can find a balance between the needs of investors, employees, and society.

[Canozzy]

Morning people. I'm a 737 Captain in Qantas and just wanted to reply to this thread.

Pilots earn 50 per cent more than peers at Virgin

This Comparison is based on DJ 737 Captain and a QF A380 Captain.

Not one job will go as a result of Qantas expanding to Asia

Bullshit. He already anounced 1000 layoffs.

In modern world, no company can promise a job for life

Nobody has asked for that. All they have asked for is; if it is a Qantas flight, it should have a Qanats pilot. Not some dude from New Zealand (which is already happening) or Singapore or Canada for that matter. This is not about other pilot groups being less skilled than Qantas pilots, this is like allowing Mexicans to fly Westjet's airplanes at Mexican wages, and essentially starting their trip in Mexico city, then doing 5 days of domestic stuff around Canada, then going back to Mexico City. This is what the QF pilots are fighting about. Nothing more, nothing less.

Cheers.

[Beefitarian]

Sounds like the big problem is wal-mart shoppers. Quantas is well known for being a better product but no one picks an airline for that. They pick one like this, "I got that flight to xxxxxx for $xx cheaper than quantas was going to charge.

It doesn't matter that once they get to the airport there's a bunch of extra charges, "Your bag is too heavy. That will be $60."