Pilots who went on strike let go by PHI

[topendtorque]

I would be careful of a discussion sinking into the pros and cons of unionism; one needs a masters of political science to even remember the histories and outcomes of most infamous actions. The OZ pilots strike has been mentioned, apart from anything else it sent 75 business’s in the main street of Cairns that relied on the airborne fly in tourist trade to the wall. Many others – self, our pilots and many other pilots at the time involved in the same tourist trade - almost went the same way.

Eureka in 1854 has been mentioned, it may have been a precursor of unionism or more correctly democracy and reform of unfair laws for this country for sure, but the great shearers strike at Blackall in Queensland - January 1891 - was the first big industrial action that formed the commencement of the Labor Party and what really set unionism in this country in concrete.

But change in procedural matters is a giant rollercoaster and I doubt that strikes have a real place in the modern society of materialism where almost every blue and white collar workers household in all countries now revolves around cash flow for mortgages of some sort. Unlike 1891 where family sustenance could be had by the veggie garden and the family prodigal fetching home a bit of wild game with the use of a pea rifle.

This materialism aspect has been touched on by commentators of the PHI dispute, about which I know nothing.

That materialism aspect changed the demographics of the outcomes of the recent OZ Patrick’s stevedores action ( possibly was deliberately thought of by Patrick’s and carelessly not thought of by the union organisers) – and – gave this country for the first time some realistic capacity to trade over the wharf at a competitive price with the world market free (ha-ha) traders. The workers were merely sacrificial pawns in the big game.

I believe that capacity to negotiate with someone will win more points than confrontation, the OZ pilots strike showed the negative aspect of confrontation.

Within that philosophy the very strong use of the word ‘scab’ for example, tends to illustrate to me what it must really be like when an irreversible valve that during flight suddenly locks immovably the wrong way. We all know what happens then.
Mind you other English words are hard to bear too, such as the robust word, palliative, it would be great if that area of medicine could be described in more subtle fashion.

Intransigence from people is – sure- difficult to handle at best, I have always maintained that the more immovable an attitude or object is then the more ways that can be invented to change it, from either side of the fence or picquet line.

This reminds me of a funny story around one of the meatworkers strikes in the Northern Territory. The meatworks owner was continuing trading, without problems as the picquets at the front gate were quite narrow in their blockade.

One day said owner hired a musterer, a friend and very handy pilot with a bit of a mad streak, not a teetotaller, who had graduated to the trade from the back of many mad horses. I know he won’t mind this reference.

At daylight owner and pilot took-off and on the way to the day’s work, they decided in a moment of (clear headed????) mischief to view at very close quarters the picquet’s who were still half drunk and asleep, their loosely moored tents, swags, campfires and etc from the cockpit of a noisy ’47.

To this old mate adds a comment over his very loud hailer, “Picquet’s, man your posts!!!! ”

It was a very, very dusty area, they soon disappeared.