This has been widely quoted as creating 400 new jobs in the media today which is Absolute crap Avalon has lost work there are NO new jobs in this announcement.
ALAEA and the Forstaff workforce got stitched up in a quick deal that should have been looked at a lot harder.
All Forstaff and Qantas Members -Notice 15/2011 - 747 D-Checks to be outsourced
As Federal Secretary of the ALAEA it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the day to day ins and outs of every discussion that takes place. I was informed today that ALAEA Officials attended a Heavy Maintenance outsourcing meeting earlier in the week and were informed that a number of Qantas aircraft could no longer fit into the onshore maintenance program. Of particular note was the intended offshoring of three 747-400 D checks. After a few seconds of contemplation I was suddenly hit with the realisation that Qantas managers had completely dishonoured an Agreement recently made with Forstaff Avalon employees about the future workload in their facility.
In December 2010, Forstaff and Qantas management approached the ALAEA, AMWU and AWU seeking urgent discussions on a new wage Agreement for Forstaff employees. The discussions were to be held six months prior to the Agreement expiry on the basis that a positive vote from the workforce would see a major 747-400 reconfiguration program awarded to the facility. We reluctantly took part in the discussions that ultimately led to a very average Agreement being placed before the workforce. The Agreement was accepted by the majority six weeks after negotiations began along with the commitment for the reconfig work.
The ALAEA were conscious all along that Qantas did not want this work carried out in Australia. We suspect there was an expectation that the ALAEA would oppose the offer, the vote would go down and our Association would be blamed for taking an unreasonable position that led to the loss of Australian jobs. We took a neutral stance during the vote for this reason and the approved Agreement meant that Qantas had locked themselves into a commitment they never intended to keep.
As the reconfigs were locked in by the new Agreement, Qantas have now announced that they will ditch the other work carried out by Avalon Qantas and Forstaff employees. 747 D checks. To say our trust in Qantas management is somewhat diminished would be an understatement. This underhanded move serves as a reminder that the Qantas wage negotiations currently underway are critical for the future of all members working for the airline. Locking in binding job security clauses that are enforceable in courtrooms is our number one priority and a must when we consider final settlement of any offer.
STEVE PURVINAS
Federal Secretary