Behold! The latest load of utter tripe from CN...................
I’m disappointed the ALAEA is conducting a ballot asking our LAMEs to take Protected Industrial Action (PIA). This will hurt Qantas and has the potential to cause disruption and pain to our passengers, our colleagues and the reputation of Qantas Engineering (QE).
I watched the 2008 dispute between QE and the ALAEA as a third party customer and I have to ask why anyone would want to go through that not once, but twice? OK on the face of it, maybe it looked like a win for the ALAEA and the LAMEs but was it really?
The view from the long white cloud
I was a QE airline customer at Air New Zealand back then and we suddenly found ourselves without any support. We didn’t care whose fault it was or what the dispute was about. This was AirNZ’s largest international operation, critical to our business, and we were suddenly left high and dry. We had no choice we had to keep flying so, of course, we found other providers.
After the dispute, QE (Gavin Harris in fact) came to ask us back. Sure the prices were higher, but the main reason we stayed away was because our people in Sydney told us there was still so much animosity between management and staff. At that time, we didn’t think either party had learned anything from the dispute or learnt to resolve their differences by talking to each other so we were nervous there would be more industrial action in the future and we couldn’t take that risk.
A damaged reputation
The dispute in 2008 certainly hurt Qantas. A conservative estimate of the financial cost put it well over $100M. It also cost Qantas Engineering the respect of the rest of the company and, to a large degree, of the travelling public. One of the most insidious effects was to create an even bigger rift between QE Management and the LAMEs. And of course, we’re now almost totally out of customer work.
I’m not defending either party, I’ve heard blame on both sides and if what I’ve heard is true, it certainly sounds like some pretty bad things happened.
But it’s now 2011 and the world has moved on. I’m working with you at QE now and when I took this job on, I made it a personal mission to leave QE in a better state than I found it. Hopefully everyone in QE has seen some of the changes we’re making, whether it’s new facilities, changes to processes and procedures, the Executive Leadership Team out and about in the workplaces or Service Quality.
We’re trying to make things better, but we can only do that by focusing on the future. We can’t change the past. So I’m asking you to think about the future too. Don’t let us go the way of Eastern Airlines (US) in 1989 where, on the day the airline went out of business, destroyed by strikes, the union cried ‘Victory’. Thousands of people now unemployed, is that really a victory?
It’s a different world
Let’s look at our reality for a moment. The world has never seen so many crises - volcanoes, earthquakes, nuclear threats, tsunamis, revolutions and, in our own backyard, floods, cyclones and bushfires. Because we’re a global company every incident affects us and impacts our costs. Last year, we dealt with 15 separate crises.
At the same time, our industry is evolving, we’ve got new aircraft coming – game changers like the 787, fuel prices are sky rocketing, yields and demand are falling. It’s a different world and to survive and succeed in this new world, we’ve got to look forward; and stop letting the past dictate our future.
I’ve met many of you who have been here for 20, 40, 50 years along with your partners at the long service awards. It’s clear to me you love this airline and you love fixing aircraft. I don’t think you can commit your life to something unless you’re passionate about its survival.
Where’s the Qantas offer?
Many of you have told me that you’re waiting for us to put an offer on the table and I can tell you that this is imminent. It might seem like it’s been a long time coming, but let’s look at the negotiations so far. In October 2010, the ALAEA presented an extensive and complex verbal claim of 28 individual items. We respected that and in good faith have been working to evaluate and cost every single item. Now, these weren’t simple items either, some of them were extremely complex and on top there’s a wage claim proposing a new pay structure.
To say that we’ve been sitting still is simply untrue. In order to bargain in good faith, we have to evaluate every claim in detail before we can respond to it. We need to run it by legal and finance for approval and of course get ExCo’s sign off. That all takes time and with such an extensive and complex claim you can see why it’s been a few months.
I’m not just saying this for effect, the ALAEA’s claim really is extreme. We simply can’t afford to give everything they’ve asked for. However, we’ve made some progress as you’ll see in the attached document. Keep in mind too that the unions have rejected the majority of our claims without discussion.
Our finance people are meeting with the Union on Tuesday to discuss our costings of their proposed pay structure.
We’re at a crossroads here guys, and I’m asking you to choose your path very carefully. I don’t want to go through a dispute and a number of you have told me you don’t either. The choice you make now is critical to our future success and to our survival. Please consider your options carefully. I promise you that we will do the same.
Regards
Chris
Is it just me? Or are the walls getting harder and the heads softer when it comes to comunicating with QF management? I still don't think they get the message.
I also wonder exactly how many EA meetings, that started preliminary discussions nearly 12 months ago, our beloved EGM for engineering has actually been to? My guess would be ZERO!
Oldmeadow must harldy be able to contain his glee at the naivety of the management at QF and their willingness to blindly follow his advice and line his pockets simultaneously.
Any comment in response to Chris FEDSEC?