Bkk Base Closed - Faaa Website
Attention All Long Haul Cabin Crew
BANGKOK BASE CLOSED
The FAAA wishes to advise our members that the Company has decided to close its overseas cabin crew base in Bangkok, Thailand.
It is with a sense of ambivalence that I write this newsletter to you. I was elected Secretary of the FAAA in March 2004, and almost immediately details came to me regarding “Project Hawaii”, which was the code name given by the Company to its then secret preparations for an additional overseas base in London, to supplement bases that were already established in Bangkok and Auckland. At that juncture, the scene was set for a bitter industrial confrontation over overseas bases, which was finally resolved in the negotiations for EBA7, which were concluded in December 2004.
It would be hypocritical of the FAAA to distance ourselves from our long standing opposition to the off-shoring of Long Haul cabin crew jobs. However, issues such as off-shoring are complicated and irrespective of philosophical viewpoints, it is nevertheless true, that there is often a human dimension and face to such issues. In this case, approximately 123 Thai cabin crew have lost their jobs.
These crew have worked with us side by side for many years, formed friendships with us and are dedicated and competent colleagues. It is therefore sad to witness their departure from the Qantas cabin crew group. On behalf of the FAAA and its members, I sincerely wish them well in their future professional endeavours.
To our members, I wish to re-iterate that this announcement of the closure of Bangkok, further demonstrates the serious job security situation for Long Haul crew. What it also demonstrates, is the effectiveness of the FAAA in protecting our jobs and the huge protective features of EBA8, which are operating in such an effective fashion, that no Long Haul member of the FAAA has been made compulsorily redundant.
The FAAA will continue to support measures (even if they are unpopular), that protect our membership from compulsory redundancy (for example the recent further direction of Long Service leave). We will continue to be flexible so that no member loses their job.
This announcement by Qantas, should demonstrate to even those that are most sceptical amongst us, that the current situation confronting all of us is serious and that the FAAA has not and is not overstating the gravity of the situation.
Finally, the decision to close the Bangkok cabin crew base highlights what I have said many times in members’ meetings; that the FAAA makes decisions on a wide range of fronts for valid and cogent reasons, designed to protect our members’ employment, and at times, we are not in a position to publicly canvass those reasons.
It is a sobering thought that had our membership rejected EBA8 and had we pursued senseless confrontational and provocative stances in relation to matters such as long service leave direction, the people being made redundant could well have been our members.
Written and authorised by Michael Mijatov – Secretary International Division
Last edited by Eden99; 26th Aug 2009 at 00:21.
Reason: CHANGE