Originally Posted by
neville_nobody
Common sense would suggest you are probably right. However Joyce was hailed by the Business Community and the Liberal Party as a hero and it certainly pushed up his social capital within those ranks despite it being an overwhelming loss for Joyce. The narrative was that he had courageously taken on the Unions and won. He also managed to gain the help of the Labor Party in doing so. Whether this perceived victory has embolden him to try it again we are yet to see, however I would agree that the smart money will be on never trying something so stupid ever again. However the real issue for the Pilots (Just like 1989) is that the shutdown was never about money.
That’s a pretty accurate post. And the last sentence sums it up nicely - it was never about money. It was about control of the Industrial agenda - control that worked for close to 8 years with very little industrial rumblings coming to the forefront at QF.
However - the next 12 months should be more interesting. Pilots should be encouraged by the PIA conducted at Tiger. The pilots went on strike (the importance of which cannot be understated - the first strike action by pilots since ‘89) and got significant improvements to their EA because they were willing to ‘walk the walk’.
Now I admit that dealing with QF IR would be significantly more difficult than VA IR, however the fundamentals don’t change - the pilot groups have to be willing to do more than just bang fists on the table.
Given the significant earning of the CEO (and Executive management) and the fact the Company is making profits in the billions, it is not unrealistic to reject the arbitrary 3% QF group wage policy. However - it takes the pilot group to be willing to take some action.
Whilst it is not legal to conduct pattern bargaining in Australia - there is nothing stopping the four pilot groups (Eastern, Sunstate, JQ and QF SH - all with open EAs) to all reject the QF wage policy. If all pilot groups were willing to reject the policy and then take some action (it does not even necessarily mean stop work action) I would suggest that the QF policy may become a little more flexible than what it currently is.
It’s good to be cautious when thinking about taking industrial action - but as shown at TT, the world does not fall in when you do. Industrial relations law has changed significantly from ‘89, and I would be very confident that another lockout at QF is a significantly low risk.
So the two key things that are required of the pilots now - the willingness to ‘push back’ a little against QF management and their IR team, and some solidarity to be able to stick together.
I wish all pilots and engineers working in the QF group all the very best over the course of these ongoing negotiations.