obie2 and RATpin do either of you remember the Qantas engineers dispute from 2008?
That was 'Protected Industrial Action'. There were no strikes, not even 48 hour stoppages. As I recall, there were a series of rolling stop work meetings and overtime bans. This cost the company 130 million dollars and eventually an agreement was reached that was much closer to the engineers claim than Dixon's offer.
So PIA far from being:
ring around the rosy with Joyce and his mates for a few weeks, a little bit of slap and tickle
It is a very serious, last resort, negotiating option that has significant effects on the company and proven results. I am not suggesting it would always be successful or even the best option to take, but to dismiss its seriousness would be very foolish.