Ineffective Unions??
The problem in Australia at the moment is similar to the problem in NZ about 15 years ago. Unions were under pressure to perform miracles when the laws were directed in a hostile manner towards them and their members.
In Australia the new IR laws are doing their best to make Unions irrelevant. Most unions in qantas are doing it tought at the moment, and are finding it difficult to "pull rabbits out of hats".
The real challenge will be to remove the Howard government and bring balance back into the workplace. Unless that occurs Unions will almost be totally irrelevent.
For Long Haul Cabin Crew the issue is not whether we deserve what we earn or whether our conditions are justified. It's about supply and demand.
What some people are suggesting is that if a group of workers think that their income and conditions are justified in their minds, then they must be protected from ever losing anything.
Morally that may be correct but the market place works differently. unfortunately their whole rafts of workers in this country in industries that have all but closed because of the market forces. The challenge of for not only Long Haul crew but any full time relatively "unskilled" workers to maintain their conditions in the current market.
When i say 'unskilled' i dont mean that Long Haul crew have no skill. It just means that we can be easily replaced by those that would do our jobs for half the money, who are younger, fitter, prettier and less "industrially aware".
Meeting that challenge is a job for Unions and their members in a balanced way. Its easy to criticise the exccesses of mangement . You wont find a flight attendant, engineer or pilot or their unions who will dissagree. But until the current government is removed or "sacked" then we dont have a chance.
Look at what's happening to engineers and pilots and they are significantly more skilled than Cabin Crew and much harder to replace, yet the Company is agressively taking them on too.
The only hope we have is to back put our faith in our elected officials and support them in a united way. To be devisive now would be to sign our own death warrants