Dick,
'though not addressing your very pertinent point directly.. This piece from a SMH journo (Paul Sheahan 14/01/08)..... with a lot of credibility says it all really !!!!
Again, applying the REASON MODEL.........Management is your first thick slice of Cheddar !!!
"The Qantas staff, and Qantas itself, simply cannot meet the demand being created by a global mileage mountain that is growing faster than the airlines themselves. Squeezing the frequent flyer program was one of the ways Qantas made a profit of $1.5 billion last year. Squeezing the staff, like sacking a flight crew for taking some chocolates off a plane, or being willing to absorb a strike rather than give engineers a salary increase of more than 3 per cent a year, has enabled senior management to earn hefty performance bonuses.
Qantas is now a caste system, with a yawning income disparity between rich and poor. Had last year's private equity takeover been successful, the top tier of management would have made $60 million from the deal while the rest of the staff made nothing. This grotesquery reflects the modern marketplace, where large investors are fixated on quarterly earnings."