This is the latest from the FAAA
18th August 2006
Attention all Qantas Long Haul and Australian Airlines Flight Attendants
GEOFF DIXON BLAMES FAAA FOR JETSTAR AWA’s
On 13 August 2006, the FAAA became aware that the Qantas Group would announce the following day that individual contracts (AWA’s) would be introduced by Jetstar International for the international cabin crew that it would be employing.
On 14 August 2006, at a press conference in Melbourne, Alan Joyce, the Chief Executive Officer of Jetstar announced the AWA move, along with some detail of the conditions that the Jetstar International cabin crew would be employed under.
These conditions include working a potential 304 hours per 8 week roster for a salary of $41,000. The $41,000 includes superannuation, “productivity bonuses” for working extra hours, commission on selling food and extra skills such as language. According to Alan Joyce, most people would regard it as “a phenomenal salary” and another Jetstar spokesperson was quoted in the Australian newspaper on 14 August as saying “we believe the overall package is comparable to other industries with similar skill sets such as cafes and restaurants”.
At a news conference in Sydney on 17 August, Geoff Dixon blamed the airline’s “biggest critics” – the FAAA International – for choosing not to negotiate a collective agreement for new cabin crew for Jetstar’s international operations. Other comments by Geoff Dixon directed against the FAAA included “they (the FAAA International Division) are the same group who threatened Qantas quite aggressively last year when we were doing an EBA (with them)” and “we do have to deal with them in Qantas, but we certainly don’t have to inflict them on Alan (Joyce, Jetstar CEO).”
The comments from Geoff Dixon are extremely disappointing and disparaging to all Long Haul and Australian Airlines crew. His reference to being threatened last year by the FAAA, actually relates to 2004 when we were collectively fighting against Qantas’ intentions to send more of our jobs to overseas bases, to exclude us from any London flying etc.
What he conveniently dismisses and doesn’t mention are the co-operative measures we have engaged with the Company since the EBA7 dispute of 2004. These include the JFK Dispensation, the Charter Agreement, the agreement over the Bonaventure, the agreement over LAX allowances, just to mention some of the more significant measures.
It is pretty discouraging that Geoff Dixon is so dismissive of our contribution (i.e. Long Haul and Australian Airlines crew) to the Company’s continuing good health and profitability. It is deplorable that years of accepting wage increases below community outcomes and even a wage freeze by all Qantas Group employees is so easily forgotten.
It is an outrage that Qantas executives take credit for the good years, and reward themselves with massive bonuses, but when times are tough, as they suggest they are now, they blame “external factors,” then move to destroy their employee’s conditions, to send more jobs overseas and still pay themselves even greater bonuses.
At least cabin crew and all Qantas employees now know what the senior levels of management really think of them and what their true intentions are.
Despite this the FAAA will, continue to act in a responsible manner, as we have done since we were elected. We will continue to co-operate with the Company in order to protect employment. We will not be diverted or provoked by the Company, to act in a manner that would be detrimental to our member’s interests.
However, we will always stand up for our members and if that means being labelled as “aggressive” or being the Company’s “biggest critics” – so be it.
The move to AWA’s clearly demonstrates the Company’s intentions to destroy our conditions of employment using the Howard Government’s new industrial laws.
We are working closely with all Qantas unions on this matter and with your continuing support and by sticking together we WILL overcome these challenges.
I urge all of you to write to your politicians and to the Company to register your disgust at these latest developments. I further re-iterate that the defeat of the Howard Government is essential in order to stop a complete onslaught on our conditions after the Qantas Long Haul EBA expires in December 2007 and January 2008 for Australian Airlines.
I further urge those very few remaining non- members to join the FAAA IMMEDIATELY for your own protection.
Written and authorised by Michael Mijatov – Secretary International Division.