“How about actual competitors. Let's say, CX and EK, just to pluck two.”
That’s great, they are airlines with similar cockpit labor costs to Qantas. But to benchmark Qantas labor costs against 2 airlines while ignoring the other 45 competitors is completely pointless. I hope I never buy a house from you!
“Qantas was offered a genuine opportunity in 2010/11 to negotiate, it chose not to. I also note you have scrupulously avoided this topic in your arguments”
I have indeed offered my thoughts regarding the very soft offers made by the various labor unions in Qantas before. Without covering too much old ground, do you really believe the pilot group offered substantial labor cost savings that would have significantly improved the CASM at your airline and placed Qantas on par with the airlines inflicting the lions share of damage?
“What would the Qantas financial position look like without the massive offshore expansion over the decade?”
It would look much better in the short term while ignoring the long-term imperative of off shoring the brand in order to avoid becoming marginalized.
“45 years of strikes would also prove it”
Not necessarily. Industrial action is often an indication that the balance of power lies with the employer, not the organized labor group. To see second officers enjoying the ridiculous conditions they do for the meager operational return they provide the company following no strike action “in 45 years” is ample evidence of where the power lies.
“Labour = work Labor = $hithouse political party”
Again, been covered before but where I live and consult; there is no Labour party but an abundance of labor.
“Tell us, what changes to pay and conditions of Staff since then have been responsible for the parlours state of the Company's finances now being experienced?”
No changes. Qantas has made use of favorable trading conditions to absorb the high labor costs in the past. Indeed, for most of its history, Qantas could operate as a viable entity virtually free of concern for labor costs. But as the market changes, so must the airlines cost structure.
Exchange rates, Government policy, foreign competition, changing consumer preferences and many other factors have depleted Qantas’s market share significantly and yet labor are still standing in line for a traditional bowl of gravy!
“Numerous people have told you that this has never been negotiated 'in good faith'”
Good faith according to what your labor union leaders tell you and what the business imperatives really are can be vastly different. As an airline manager in Australia and other parts of the globe I have witnessed first hand how closed door belligerence has been delivered to the troops as “good faith” rebuttal in the light of day.
V-jet,
“Licence on the line (and therefore your job) every 3 months likewise strict medicals every 12 months. An extremely through knowledge of Australian and International Transport Law (every country you fly to or over) is more than mandatory.
No such thing as public holidays, public holiday penalty rates etc. 17 hour work days are the norm and its rare to work all day. Extreme tiredness is the result. Personally I found International flying on the 76 the worst, occasionally bad enough to throw up on the side of the road driving home. 'Stop Revive Survive' signs always humoured me! You do not get home from work each day, generally 'going to work' means 7-10 days and nights away. Days away 'at work' are NOT considered hours at work.
13 years it took me before I had Christmas and New Year off in the same year....”
A laundry list of the demands placed upon shift workers such as pilots. But the market is compensating you for these hardships and if your labor is not being utilized to your satisfaction you should not offer it for sale as clearly you are not happy with the return!
“You cannot compare it to 9-5 M-F.”
No one is trying too.