Sunfish
I appreciate your effort in conveying your interpretations of the 'real issues'. Where others have dismissed an oppurtunity to openly discuss this issue, you have taken the time to reply and it is appreciated, however.....(you knew it was coming!)
The QF product you speak of is the product of a Government owned era, where money was of no real concern and competition within Australia was negligable. I'm sure you'd agree that the aviation climate today is far different from what it was both Internationally and Domestically.
We like to believe that people fly with our Flag carrier for unsurpassed service, reliability and safety. This is a very big misconception. The reasons people fly QF are cheap fares, Oneworld links, frequent flyer (taken a bit of a battering lately) and cheap fares!
If service, reliability and safety were of such importance, you wouldnt see QF management cutting costs the way they are at the moment. They are cutting costs in order to provide a cheaper, more accessable, product for the general public. Which leads me on to.....
Where does the LAME and engineering fit into all of this. If we maintain our reluctance to change, we could quite possibly price ourselves out of the market. Sure engineers will always be required, but in what capacity and in what numbers is really going to depend on us, and our union.
With this in mind, I honestly believe it prudent for all to consider whats on offer from QF in the latest EBA. It may not be palatable at first, but it may be all that stands between keeping jobs at QF, in Australia, or losing the jobs to overseas interests.