Oh the irony Professor
et al is significant pay increases (magnified on A380/B744 due to long sector lengths=overtime) and failure to improve productivity
are a direct result of the QF failure to negotiate back in 2011.
Rather than negotiate, management chose to have FWA impose a determination. To go down this path entirely managements choice, even desire. They appear to have wanted FWA to do its dirty work for them, which was politely refused, even poking QF in the eye with significant pay increases & backpay, yet minimal productivity increases. To sheet the blame home to the pilots is completely disingenuous.
A quote from a former President of the Union, in writing to a major daily newspaper recently:
Qantas not unions' fault
In a meeting in February 2011, I offered Alan Joyce a two-year pay freeze and a commitment to rewrite our certified agreement.
This was rejected out of hand. It is an ideological war and Mr Joyce needed the pilots to be able to lock the staff out in 2011 at a cost of over $200 million. There is nothing wrong with industrial relations in Australia but there is a lot wrong with management.
..........................
Barry Jackson
Sydney, NSW
Australian Financial Review, page 35, Friday 7 March 2014
(my bold)
In hindsight, perhaps management needed the crisis in negotiations to precipitate a even bigger crisis (lockout), for a larger agenda.
The bottom line is
failure to negotiate pay & productivity improvements has been entirely due to management. Pilots have ready to negotiate for many years, but cannot if the other party is unwilling to negotiate, and you know it.