Thanks Yellow Flag for... well I'm not sure what for, but thanks anyhow.
Agree with some of your comments but in relation to playing hardball I'm afraid that's the way it is.
If the FAAA are not capable of playing on the same piece of turf then they need to get some expert skilled people, of comparable calibre that QF uses, to do their battling for them.
There's no excuse for a union claiming to be modern saying "Oh well it's the best we could do". Sorry but that doesn't cut it.
FAAA union officials are flight attendants who are going up against hardened industrial relations law practitioners. They go in with the best intentions but how do you compete against QF when they front up with a negotiator who was previously an IR commissioner and still bears the title of QC. FAAA needs to get bigger guns and the fees that members pay should be used for that very purpose.
I have been criticised for complaining without offering suggestions so I will end this post with a suggestion.
Most long haul crew are peeved at QF forcing the taking of long service leave to reduce QF's leave liability and subsequently make the bottom line look a bit better.
And it seems that by all accounts the law is on QF's side.
My suggestion is for the FAAA to begin lobbying the government to improve corporate laws so that any accumulated entitlements (like long service leave) are paid to a trust account.
The corporation can enjoy the interest from the account but can't touch the cash.
The value in this is two fold:
1. There is no need for the corporation to force its employees to take the leave and relieve the liability because there isn't one.
2. The employees entitlements are protected should the corporation go broke.
Note that I believe annual leave is about rest and recreation and should be taken as prescribed. Long service leave is about a bonus for years of service (loyalty).