And an EBA is agreed contract between Company and Union. If the companies think its so damaging then they would'nt agree with it in the first place. Right?
For your information these provisions have been in most EBA agreements for decades let alone just recent time.
Like most agreements undertaken by airlines and Unions many clauses are agreed to under duress during "good times". i.e. Airline thinks 'if I try and take out the seniority clauses regarding retrenchment the union will take Industrial action and cost us millions now'.
Many parts of the EBA aren't fashioned because the airline actually agrees. It's because at the time the cost would be too high. The end result is that during the low points of the economy the airline acknowledged that many good, young and new people (who are the type of people they want) will be retrenched. The cost to the company would have been too high and as a result of the union the young guys will feel the pain now. The union pushed this agenda, and the airline agreed. Those retrenched need to focus there attention on the union(s) for pushing the inclusion of this clause. It was never the companies idea to create a Last in - First out queue for retrenchment.
Airline EBAs were never about protecting the new and young guys in the company they were about protecting those who had been members for longer.
The young guys that work hard and do well for the company (vs. the few deadwood (you, i and they know who they are) can thank the union and not the company for being first on the hit list. It's sad, but it's the way things are now - as AoA says - it's a legal agreement.
QANTAS EBA(s) - The needs of the old outway the needs of the young.
preventing the progress of others who are certainly more productive and have more talent and potential." But for every one of them, there would be 50 who arent.
The deadwood stand out. The talented and potential stand out. Since you agree with this you should be advocating a system that recognises both and treats them accordingly. The current EBA(s) does neither.