QF EBA Voted Down

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Qantas chairman slams unions

Qantas Airways chairman Leigh Clifford has reignited the carrier's verbal quarrel with labour unions, accusing them of failing to recognise the pressures impacting on the airline industry.
Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Mr Clifford also said the company's shift towards offshore aircraft maintenance would not compromise safety.
"This sort of view that somehow or other if a plane is maintained outside of Australia it's not done as well is insulting," Mr Clifford told the newspaper.
He argued that Australians regularly fly on carriers like Emirates Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa, which perform maintenance in countries that Qantas is leaning towards.
The airline industry is currently grappling with falling demand and rising fuel costs, and Mr Clifford said that some union officials were not "as alert to the dynamics of the industry as they need to be".
"I think union leadership doesn't seem to have a thorough grasp of the challenges that our employees and the company faces," he said.
Federal secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, Steve Purvinas told the AFR the union was disappointed by Mr Clifford's comments.
This year Qantas has slashed 1,500 jobs, shifted maintenance offshore and campaigned aggressively against unions to keep pay rises to a minimum in a bid to maintain profits as the industry becomes more challenging.


Doesn't sound like Bazz and the boys are going to have an easy time getting +9% for the MegaBus does it.