NSW: Qantas ground crew to strike tomorrow
Following Qantas management‟s continued refusal to guarantee Australian
workers‟ job security through a union agreement, while Qantas sacks 1000
workers and outsources Australian jobs, the TWU will hold industrial
action tomorrow in the form of 2 stoppages (morning and afternoon) in
Sydney and airports across NSW.
TWU State Secretary Wayne Forno said,
“We stand 100% in support of our 3800 members across Australia, who like the majority of Australian‟s are working people with families to feed. They simply want job security through a union agreement to replace the WorkChoices agreement that they are on now.
“As Australians we all feel ownership for the Qantas brand, do not want to see it shipped off to Asia and safety standards go down the toilet together with Australian jobs.”
Thursday's Protected Industrial Action by TWU Members in Sydney
Tomorrow‟s Protected Industrial Action will definitely go ahead for two hours in the morning (6 am to 8am) and two hours in the afternoon (4pm – 6pm) so that both shifts can be updated on the progress of today‟s negotiations.
TWU Members will minimise disruptions by working in the morning
Our members will ensure that delays are minimised by working before taking the action in order to set up operations to allow for a smooth transition for contingency staff to take over.
Qantas could stop this
“Qantas could end all of this tomorrow,” Mr Forno said. “For all of their carry-on and glossy apologies to passengers, it all boils down to one basic right Qantas are refusing these workers; job security.”
This fight is about job security. Qantas are outsourcing Australian ground crew jobs to outside hire, paying them minimum rates below those of their competitors.
“The TWU wants to protect workers so two people doing the same job are paid the same amount, reducing the incentive for Qantas to outsource jobs to labour hire,” Mr Forno said.
“That shouldn‟t be too much to ask from our national airline that still maintains 65% of the domestic market share and recorded a profit of over $500 million last financial year.”
Qantas claims our proposed job security clauses are „unreasonable‟ demands which don‟t allow them the required „flexibility‟ that they need.
This is simply untrue. The TWU has always allowed Qantas the flexibility to hire short-term staff during peak periods, such as Christmas and Easter.
Pay Rise
“Our members are asking for a 5% per annum pay rise for two years: It‟s astounding that the Qantas spin machine has claimed that this is too much at the same time as their CEO receives a 71% pay increase and every other board member gets at least a 50% pay increase,” Mr Forno said.
Qantas‟ attempts to compare their pay rates to Virgin do not add up, as rates are worked out according to a different classification structure.
Tourism and Transport Forum
This morning, the Tourism and Transport Forum has weighed into the industrial dispute.
Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth was the Executive Director of the Tourism and Transport Forum prior to joining Qantas in mid 2009. Obviously the break-up was harmonious and the Tourism and Transport Forum is acting on instruction and advice from Qantas.
The Transport and Tourism Forum claims that domestic travelers will go overseas instead of holidaying in Australia because of threatened disruptions. The high Australian dollar seems to play no part in an Australian‟s holidaying plans according to this view, nor the fact that, as Qantas has repeatedly complained, other airlines are more than happy to fill the void.
“The TWU believes the national interest is best served if Australian jobs remain in Australia and companies are not able to contract their workforce out to the cheapest bidder.” Mr Forno concluded.
“We stand 100% in support of our 3800 members across Australia, who like the majority of Australian‟s are working people with families to feed. They simply want job security through a union agreement to replace the WorkChoices agreement that they are on now.
“As Australians we all feel ownership for the Qantas brand, do not want to see it shipped off to Asia and safety standards go down the toilet together with Australian jobs.”
Thursday's Protected Industrial Action by TWU Members in Sydney
Tomorrow‟s Protected Industrial Action will definitely go ahead for two hours in the morning (6 am to 8am) and two hours in the afternoon (4pm – 6pm) so that both shifts can be updated on the progress of today‟s negotiations.
TWU Members will minimise disruptions by working in the morning
Our members will ensure that delays are minimised by working before taking the action in order to set up operations to allow for a smooth transition for contingency staff to take over.
Qantas could stop this
“Qantas could end all of this tomorrow,” Mr Forno said. “For all of their carry-on and glossy apologies to passengers, it all boils down to one basic right Qantas are refusing these workers; job security.”
This fight is about job security. Qantas are outsourcing Australian ground crew jobs to outside hire, paying them minimum rates below those of their competitors.
“The TWU wants to protect workers so two people doing the same job are paid the same amount, reducing the incentive for Qantas to outsource jobs to labour hire,” Mr Forno said.
“That shouldn‟t be too much to ask from our national airline that still maintains 65% of the domestic market share and recorded a profit of over $500 million last financial year.”
Qantas claims our proposed job security clauses are „unreasonable‟ demands which don‟t allow them the required „flexibility‟ that they need.
This is simply untrue. The TWU has always allowed Qantas the flexibility to hire short-term staff during peak periods, such as Christmas and Easter.
Pay Rise
“Our members are asking for a 5% per annum pay rise for two years: It‟s astounding that the Qantas spin machine has claimed that this is too much at the same time as their CEO receives a 71% pay increase and every other board member gets at least a 50% pay increase,” Mr Forno said.
Qantas‟ attempts to compare their pay rates to Virgin do not add up, as rates are worked out according to a different classification structure.
Tourism and Transport Forum
This morning, the Tourism and Transport Forum has weighed into the industrial dispute.
Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth was the Executive Director of the Tourism and Transport Forum prior to joining Qantas in mid 2009. Obviously the break-up was harmonious and the Tourism and Transport Forum is acting on instruction and advice from Qantas.
The Transport and Tourism Forum claims that domestic travelers will go overseas instead of holidaying in Australia because of threatened disruptions. The high Australian dollar seems to play no part in an Australian‟s holidaying plans according to this view, nor the fact that, as Qantas has repeatedly complained, other airlines are more than happy to fill the void.
“The TWU believes the national interest is best served if Australian jobs remain in Australia and companies are not able to contract their workforce out to the cheapest bidder.” Mr Forno concluded.