Qantas plan to shift 25pc of cabin crews overseas

[Wirraway]

Thurs "Sydney Morning Herald"

Qantas plan to shift 25pc of cabin crews overseas
By Cosima Marriner and Scott Rochfort
May 27, 2004

Qantas is planning to base a quarter of its international cabin crew in London from next year to save on hotel and meal costs, a leaked internal document reveals.

The cabin crew "resource planning" document emerged hours after Qantas's chief executive, Geoff Dixon, publicly argued for sending more of the airline's jobs offshore, but denied any decisions had been made.

Mr Dixon told the National Press Club that Qantas "would be a lot more efficient" if it hired workers overseas. "No one wants to do this, but we're going to have to face up to it," he said.

Mr Dixon said there were "no specific plans at the moment" to boost Qantas's offshore workforce. "Right at the moment I've got nothing on my desk about it."

But the leaked document outlining staffing requirements for 2004-05 reveals the airline's "target" to eventually base 25 per cent - or 840 - of its international cabin crew overseas. Six per cent of Qantas's 35,000 employees are now based overseas, including 350 flight attendants.

Mr Dixon said he would discuss the issue with 250 managers next Tuesday and then meet union representatives.

The leaked document says Qantas plans to hire 150 crew on eight-month contracts by August "to bridge the gap" until its London base is established.

The plans appear to breach the agreement Qantas signed with unions two years ago to cap the number of cabin crew based at its two existing overseas bases - Bangkok and Auckland - at 370.

The Flight Attendants Association said Qantas's Bangkok-based crew are paid 20 per cent, and its Auckland based-crew 60 per cent, of the wages of their Australian counterparts.

The association said it was "absolutely outraged" by the plans. "We've been talking to the company in the past few weeks about a London base," the head of its international division, Michael Mijatov, said.

"What Qantas management told us was that no decision had been made. If they don't give us an absolute answer we'll be calling meetings with our members to discuss this issue."

In his press club speech, Mr Dixon said offshore employment was a "sensitive" issue but it was inevitable that Qantas would shift more jobs overseas as part of efforts to maintain its international competitiveness.

"We're so far away from the rest of the world, Qantas would be a lot more efficient by sourcing labour from other areas than we do," he said. "We've resisted this and we continue to resist this as long as we can get the necessary savings in Australia, [but] there will be times when we have to."

He said Qantas could save $20 million a year if it moved 400 workers from one of the airline's larger divisions overseas to a developed country.

It is believed he was referring to plans to base some cabin crew overseas, which would cut hotel and meal allowance expenses for crew rested in long-haul destinations. Mr Dixon refused to quantify how many Qantas staff he would like based overseas. Nor would he estimate how much money the company could save with more offshore staff.

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Thurs "The Australian"

Qantas offshore job plan
By Steve Creedy and Sophie Morris
May 27, 2004

QANTAS is considering sending one in four long-haul flight attendant jobs overseas – up to 1020 positions in total – in a cost-cutting bid that has incensed unions.

Internal Qantas documents obtained by The Australian suggest the airline could send up to an additional 650 jobs overseas as part of a plan, codenamed Hawaii, believed to involve a base in London. An agreement with the union already allows it to hire 370 overseas flight attendants.

News of the proposal angered the Flight Attendants Association of Australia, which could not rule out industrial action during enterprise bargaining later this year.

FAAA international assistant secretary Michael Mijatov accused Qantas executives "of padding their own pockets at the expense of Australian employment".

The union was also upset at what it believed was a plan to employ 150 flight attendants on fixed-term contracts and dump them when offshore jobs came on line, he said.

"We're outraged if this document is true," Mr Mijatov said.

"Qantas . . . in the public arena trades on its being on an Australian carrier – how dare it even use the words Spirit of Australia?" It presently employs 330 foreign flight attendants.

Yesterday's leaked document indicates Qantas employs 3756 long-haul flight attendants but it projects this to rise to 4072 by next March.

If that happens, the airline's 25 per cent "target" would equate to 1018 jobs.

The document emerged after Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon warned at the National Press Club in Canberra that the airline needed to send more jobs offshore to remain competitive in a "psychoid" global aviation market.

Mr Dixon confirmed last night that the issue was under consideration but said no decision had been made "on any offshore employment for any area of Qantas".

"I intend to discuss this issue and the challenges facing Qantas with 250 senior managers at a meeting next Tuesday," Mr Dixon said.

"I then intend to meet with all the unions represented at Qantas and representatives of the ACTU to take them through all the issues, including consolidation and offshore employment."

Mr Dixon told the Press Club that labour was the airline's most expensive outlay and said employing offshore was the best way to cut costs.

He said moving 400 jobs to a First World country, offering First World salaries and conditions - believed to be a reference to the London plan - could save Qantas more than $20million a year.

But Mr Mijatov said it would deprive Australians of a chance of a job with Qantas.

"The Australian taxpayers built this company and the Australian government paid off their debt at the time of privatisation. If this is the thanks they think they owe to the community, I think they've absolutely got their priorities wrong."

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