The problem we have here is that no matter how much 'the workers' want to work for a company that cares, looks after it staff and protects the brand, it is very rare in this day and age to find a board / CEO who want the same.
I don't know when we started to demand increased profitability year on year with everything else sacrificed for this goal. Yes it is good to have a profitable company, but most would accept that there will be 'lean' years where investment in equipment / expansion etc can lead to reduced profits or losses. Unfortunately we are just seeing Qantas do what a lot of other big companies are guilty of. Jetstar was set up as a blocker for Virgin, now it is being used as the 'growth' vehicle of the Qantas group due to only one thing, its cost base. The board / CEO / Shareholders don't give a sh*t if the staff who are proud of the Qantas name see this as destruction of the brand. What they are interested in is stripping Qantas mainline of all its perceived high cost elements to replace them with 'lesser costs'.
My pick is that the Qantas board have 'created' a whirlwind of feeling around the QSA / Unreasonable Unions etc and seem to have hooked the government into believing they need help. We will see massive cutbacks announced on the 27th, the Unions will be forced to accept big reductions in contracts which will effectively introduce 'B' scales and a new underclass of workers. I have noticed some pilots on here who are already talking about what the 'B' scale will look like. Once the costs are restructured we will find that options will be exercised for new aircraft to be flown / crewed / maintained by the cheapest bidders and the network will start to expand again. Backed by Government debt guarantees and support for wholesale changes to the QSA and FWA Qantas will emerge as a money making machine after which time the CEO / Board and Shareholders will pocket massive bonuses, leave the company with millions of dollars patting themselves on the back whilst the staff remain on the new 'improved' conditions.