For as long as Qantas workers and management continue their stand-off, it’s likely that any pending air travel you might have planned will be impacted. Qantas workers unions are taking industrial relations action (AKA striking) for improvements in pay and working conditions, while the management claims they cannot meet the unions’ demands because it’ll mean having to increase the cost of flights to afford it (and that in turn will make Qantas go broke – because no one wants to pay more for flights than we already do, right?).
Despite working in State Government departments I never joined a union and don’t have insider knowledge about how the system works. What I could pick up from watching union members doing union things in times of conflict was that transparency is a major factor in any negotiations between the unions and bosses. Transparency is also key in communication with any organisations’ number one stakeholders/customers – who, in Qantas’s, case are the public. And so – in the interest of transparency – Qantas booked a full-page ad in today’s paper:
(From the Sydney Morning Herald)
The “We’re Sorry” ad includes some interesting details about the negotiations, concluding with: “We have had more than a hundred meetings to try to reach agreement and we’ve sought concilliation through Fair Work Australia. But these unions will not negotiate sensibly and have openly declared their plans to pursue a destructive industrial path… We urge these three unions to come to an agreement with Qantas that is fair and equitable – for the sake of all Qantas employees, our shareholders and the travelling Australian public.”
It’s an interesting move by Qantas. With this attempt to keep the public’s favour, they’ll probably be seriously pissing off the very people they need to get the planes back in the sky. If you were planning to fly Qantas to holiday destinations come Christmas time, make sure you’ve got a contingency plan or travel insurance at the least. A Sydney Morning Herald article stated the damaging game of cat and mouse between Qantas and its key unions… threaten to escalate in the lead-up to Christmas; and with new reports that work bans have now spread to Jetstar, there’s no resolution in sight.
