Qantas IR Exec:Want to ask some questions?

[DEFCON4]

Qantas IR specialist to deliver Kingsley Laffer Memorial lecture 2010
15 April 2010
Sue Bussell, Executive Manager of Industrial Relations at Qantas, will deliver the 18th annual Kingsley Laffer Memorial Lecture on Monday 19 April.

The subject will be "Turbulent Times - a practitioner's perspective of Industrial Relations in Aviation."

The lecture is held each year by the Faculty of Economics and Businessin honour of Kingsley Laffer, the founding father of industrial relations at the University of Sydney and a pioneer of teaching and research in Australian industrial relations.

Sue Bussell will talk as a practitioner in industrial relation about the recent changes to the industrial relations landscape and the potential impact on industry, particularly the Aviation Industry.

Sue has had a career in industrial relations spanning 20 years and has worked as a union official, an a IR Commissioner, and as an employer representative.

"The new IR laws are a significant development in Australia's long and unique industrial relations heritage and will have a real impact on Australian industry such as the aviation industry."

In 2007, the Deputy Labor Leader, and then shadow minister for Employment & Industrial Relations, Julia Gillard. Other impressive speakers in the Kingsley Laffer lecture series include the Hon Bob Hawke, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, Justice Michael Kirby, and the Hon Kim Beazley.

Associate Professor Chris Wright, Chair of the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies says the lecture attracts a large audience of practitioners and students, and people interested in industrial relations.

"We want to ask questions about where industrial relations is going, and key issues in industrial relations," Professor Wright says.


Event details
Date 6pm, Monday, 19 April 2010;
Location Eastern Avenue Auditorium, Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney;
Cost Free, all welcome.

[Ngineer]

A leopard never changes its spots.

[SeldomFixit]

Historically, it seems. old Union hacks become Industrial Bench seat warmers, HR/IR Managers at the companies they so " fervently " took on for the " brothers " rights, or Politicians.
Pass me a bucket.
These people are filth :mad:

[airtags]

Laffer understood the concept of productive equity and understood that IR is a partnership (of sorts)

.................not exactly convinced Sue can offer anything but to demonstrate that QF has been the antonym.

AT
:E

[Wod]

Historically, it seems. old Union hacks become Industrial Bench seat warmers, HR/IR Managers at the companies they so " fervently " took on for the " brothers " rights, or Politicians.
Pass me a bucket.
These people are filth http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/censored.gif


Misses the point, I think. IR practioners are like Barristers. Make the case. Argue the case. Ultimately doesn't matter whether for the prosecution or defence.

Too many on this forum, for perfectly understandable reasons, tend to the view that their side is always right.

It ain't necessarily so. The argument goes to court and the merits of the case get resolved.

Old, but good, advice. Never get sucked in to believing your own propaganda.

[Willie Nelson]

Wod,

I think you hit the nail on the head and to go one step further; know your adversary.

It's a brave new world out their, for all Qantas' huff and puff and reduction in terms and conditions across all sectors of this industry they must work with a market labour force, to understand their viewpoint on how that may be affecting Qantas is to understand your position in the market as both and employer and an employee, I for one wish I could make it to hear what she has to say. I may well have to bring a quell though.

[rmcdonal]

I for one wish I could make it to hear what she has to say.
So i should take notes then? :E

[LAME2]

Please do.

I will be intereted to hear what she has to say, but I cannot be in two places at once.

Thanks for your offer.

[MIss Behaviour]

Shirley you must be able to get a transcript after the event from the SYD UNI.

[rmcdonal]

Was an interesting talk. Full room with about 500 People.
I was unable to write down everything she said, but here are the main bits I found interesting:
1: QANTAS/Jetstar = 32% of the international market with that % shrinking due competition with new entrants .
2: The cost of labour in the QANTAS group is 25% of the operating costs, and is the most varied from other airlines (e..g everyone pays roughly the same for fuel and acft. costs, but labour is the most varied between airlines)
3: A 1% increase in all staff pay = $37Million cost to the company
4: The 3% rule is there shrink the gap between Virgin/ Tiger and QANTAS's pay differences which are currently about 20% apart (so eventually if Virgin keep giving pay increases they will be the same as QANTAS as far as staff costs go)
5: QANTAS had a hand in the forming of the new Industrial Awards for aviation. They did this to keep the minimum pay and conditions as written in the awards to the absolute minimum. Her intention was then that all agreements would be built on top of that safety net and it is not to be used as the end agreement. (this item gave me the ****s as I only know a very few number of people who actually make more than the award:ugh:)
6: She gets very upset every time the unions use 'safety' to get the public on their side, stating that QANTAS has more maintenance on shore than anyone else doing a similar job.
All of the above points are as I understood them, I do not hold an economics degree and my note taking skills are less than average so please take with a grain of salt. Also I was somewhat distracted by the blonde sitting next to me (was a full room she had no choice :ok::E).
Hopefully there is a transcript so you can read what she has to say for yourselves. :ok:

[lame1]

Isn't she a jewel.I cant wait to read the transcript to read her views on the comparisons of management wages within Qantas and the rest of the world.I feel pretty special to have someone of her ability running the industrial relations for Qantas.Does anyone know how much money she has saved the investors in recent EBA's or management contracts.Who ever said their are glass ceilings for women don't know Sue like I know Sue.

[GENKI]

IR crucial to airlines' survival: Qantas's IR exec Sue Bussell
Qantas may "appear to run a tough industrial relations regime" but that is "simply about how best to operate at any given time of day" to provide an acceptable return on investment, support 20,000 jobs and provide money for investors, according to Qantas exec manager IR Sue Bussell.

"You can't run a successful airline unless, among other things, you get your IR right," Bussell told last night's 18 th annual Kingsley Laffer Memorial Lecture. With airlines, "it is not possible to buy your way out of trouble, if you are interested in long-term survival", she said. "The price of getting it wrong is going out of business," Bussell said.

She painted a detailed portrait of the business pressures the carrier worked under and an analysis of what it needed to do to keep flying; and the impact of new Fair Work regime.

Cost pressures paramount

In 1965 a ticket to London was the same as an average worker's six months' pay; in 2009 it was less than two weeks - a decline of 85% in real terms.

Aviation requires a considerable investment, with Qantas having spent more than $10.86b over the past five years on aircraft and will invest another $15.5b over the next five.

Qantas now accounts for just 20% of incoming flights and operates at a considerable disadvantage to low-cost entrants such as Virgin Blue and Tiger, and state-owned competitors.

Labour represents 25% of total business costs at Qantas and, whereas other costs are "beyond the control of any one company", labour is in the organisation's hands.

A 1% pay increase adds $37m a year to total costs, which is why it had been holding increases to 3%, she said.

It had been fundamental to Qantas's growth as we "would have lost money last year rather than making a small profit".

It was working to reduce the cost gap with its competitors but the gap remained significant, she said.

For instance, compared to Virgin Blue and Tiger it paid pilots 20% more and airport check-in staff 10%.

IR is back 'centre stage'

Bussell said she had a "passion" for IR and has been working in the area, for unions, the Vic IR cmn, the Aust Industry Group and for Qantas for more than 30 years.

Years ago a colleague had advised her to broaden into HR because "IR was a dying profession" or "club". Indeed, for 10 years she shifted into HR with Qantas retail business but by 2002 was back in IR and now "it is not part of a dying profession at all", she said.

"Labour in airlines matters". And the last election and the changes under the Fair Work regime show "IR is back and centre stage".

Unions wrong to use safety to attack Qantas

Bussell lambasted those unions that had used safety issues as a bargaining tactic.

"There is an unfortunate tendency for a small number of unions to damage the employer brand" as a way of, or "instead of, bargaining", she said.

They were borrowing from the US model and "using safety as a tactic", she said.

Not only did it damage the employer and so the unions' members, but in Qantas's case it was unfair. It was the only Australian carrier to conduct most of its maintenance in Australia and that maintained collective agreements with its workforce, she said.

For Bussell's insights into the impact of the Fair Work regime, see tomorrow's post.

[surfside6]

There are around 1500 managers running Qantas.Their remuneration starts at about $100k and continues on upward to $5million.They are then paid bonuses so they can work harder at doing their job better.
Ms Bussell and her ilk always tend to ignore this IR anomaly.
As a cost is exec remuneration included in the 25% wage bill?

[breakfastburrito]

Labour represents 25% of total business costs at Qantas and, whereas other costs are "beyond the control of any one company", labour is in the organisation's hands.
There's the problem right there - costs, huge costs are within MANAGMENTS direct control - just to mention a few off the top of my head
Management bonuses
Segmentation strategy
De-segmentation strategy
Massive management duplication with running "internal competition"
Transferring the A330-200 to J* into PER & replacing them with the classics
A330 low strength floors
A330 cabin refits
FMC upgrades for the classics
Failing to purchase the B777
LAME dispute
J* Asia
J* Pacific

Management had made blunder after blunder, those costs are within their control but never acknowledged. Zero cred sue.

[-438]

''compared to Virgin Blue and Tiger it paid pilots 20% more"

What is the average years of service of these pilots in their respective companies? What are the experience levels? What is required of these pilots on different pay scales? Are we comparing like aircraft?

Anyone can use basic statistics to suit any hollow argument.

"The cost of labour in the QANTAS group is 25% of the operating costs"

Subtract management costs from this equation and tell us the real percentage of operating costs. How much of this 25% labour cost should be attributed to Jetstars books?

How much time and money was wasted on the APA buyout that would have killed QANTAS?

[lame1]

I wonder if our little Jewel has ever studied the percentage pay rise given to management vrs the ordinary worker within Qantas since the 60's.
Maybe without her input into the last LAME EBA the company might have made 150000000 (yes Sue all those zeros).Responsibility starts at the top .One would have thought the board would have killed off IR after their last effort obviously b*llsh*t goes a long way

[Redstone]

There are around 1500 managers running Qantas.

Well there are around 1500 LAMES' company wide (give or take)

There's an interesting comparrison......

The most telling thing is that since Geoff left, we have been growing more "managers" in Engineering than ever before.

[BogeyBoy]

Nail on the head Redstone. The "500 managers" headcount reduction so widely broadcast as QF cost cutting and "trimming the fat" was a scam from the outset. From what I saw, the mgmt ranks were barely touched, instead the "definition" of a manager was broadened overnight. Suddenly "support staff" were included and cull quotas were filled with contractor heads (plenty of whom actually contributed something to the company...).

Ever since they seem to have room to accomodate more and more manager mates at each "restructure", while telling staff in the next breath the company is on the rocks and there's no cash for the actual workers. :ugh:

[OneDotLow]

BogeyBoy,

The recent change of title from 'Fleet Manager' to 'Fleet Captain' is just another example... No less people doing the same job. Simply less people with manager printed on their business card. Give it 12-18 months and they will have authorised another set of business cards...
:ugh: