fearcampaign,
Hear you loud and clear, as I'm sure the majority of people who read this forum do also. After years of dealing with these characters (airline management), I have concluded that you need leaverage to achieve any sort of result. Harsh language and even logic do not seem to have any affect when it comes to securing a better deal!
In years gone by, work bans or even strike action were the order of the day. The previous government has effectively made illegal even the organised refusal of overtime, not to mention any other sort of industrial action. Whilst I'm not advocating a return to the bad old days, this has resulted in an environment where the prevailing attitude of management has become one of.."There it is. Take it or leave it!"
So what sort of leaverage are we left with? Only one of course, resign and go to an operator that pays more. It was mentioned in a previous thread that it was surprising the Eastern EBA got up with so little achieved. In the current environment that's not surprising. I think you'll find that the majority of those who voted yes probably thought it was a sh!tty deal as well, but what the hell, they're out of there as soon as a better one comes along.
The ironic thing is that the management of QF Link probably thought they had a win. The reality is that they simply made up the minds of those who may have previously been undecided.
My advice in all of this. don't even try and negotiate a better deal. by all means tell them what they need to do to secure skilled labour, and when they fold their arms in defiance, walk away and update your resume'. If you attempt to "negotiate", they will stuff you around like there is no tomorrow, and at that they are experts!
The competition for your skills hasn't even moved into second gear yet. When it really starts to hot up (my prediction early to middle of next year), just watch them scramble in an effort to save the business. by then, as probably even now, it will be too late.