Qf 747 offshored again

[qf 1]

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.

[qf 1]

where is Bill Shorten when you need him,last time the 747 work was lost to Avalon from Sydney he was cheering Qf managemants position.Increased membership numbers in Mexico.Looks like the thin end of the wedge has been inserted.

[Stationair8]

Bill is a bit like the barbers cat full of p#ss and wind.

[Jethro Gibbs]

ALAEA Winning does not look like it where is Wally from the ALAEA he was there at the start of Avalon. Oh ! that's right he now works for Forstaff and the ALAEA have to deal with him.:ugh:

[Jabawocky]

D checks offshore huh.....time to buy shares in Rexel :E

[empire4]

Avalon and offshoring are 2 in the same, only difference is which country gets the tax income.

Do you really think the Quality will suffer? I don't think so.

HM should have stayed in Sydney in the first place.

[7378FE]

Are there enough staff at Avalon to Re-configs and "D" checks?

If not, are there enough people sitting on the dole who are qualified to do "D" checks in Australia?

[VBPCGUY]

If not, are there enough people sitting on the dole who are qualified to do "D" checks in Australia?

Cant be that hard to tear a B747 apart can it???

[Nepotisim]

You are right. Putting it back together is the hard bit.:ok:

[Bootstrap1]

Avalon must bleed money for Qantas. How could it have been financially viable for Qantas that when they shut down SYD HM, Forstaff employed some of the LAMEs on contract at a higher rate of pay plus allowances, plus accomodation, plus transport and flights.

Avalon has always been a poor decision I believe. Not to mention the quality of work from unmotivated contract staff. They don't give a rats @rse because QF don't give a rats about them. And it shows in the end product.

Having said all that I don't want QF to offshore any work because as we have seen with the likes of engines, they have lost all control of the product they get back. I know they send LAMEs with the offshored aircraft but you can't be everywhere all the time.

Maintenance performed by contractor here or overseas is the same. Everyone is in it for a quick dollar and when the sh!t hits the fan the mess has to be picked up by line maintenance having to do secondary rework and cabin crew having to apologise to customers about why the IFE doen't work or why the zone is too hot or why the ceiling panel fell down.

At least when it is done in house by company staff there is a certain level of pride in the work done, even when the company is knifing you during EBA time.

[BrissySparkyCoit]

Are there enough staff at Avalon to Re-configs and "D" checks?

If not, are there enough people sitting on the dole who are qualified to do "D" checks in Australia?

There's plenty of qualified people..... some own bottle shops.... some put up fences..... some travel around loading software for IFE systems.....

.....all of them shafted when Sydney was closed down. Most of them disgruntled enough NOT to return.

A few greedy people destroyed something that would take decades to replace.

[Jethro Gibbs]

Avalon must bleed money for Qantas.
The Qantas LAMEs still worked for Qantas at a higher rate of pay plus allowances, plus accomodation, plus transport and flights so that was a cost to Qantas. Forstaff Lames got none of that.

[Gas Bags]

Forstaff are recruiting right now for 737/747 Lames for a 9 month contract. Paid per diems of $110.00 (non taxable) + accomodation + transport + flights (including monthly flights to home base) + paid for all QF fleet relevant licences and slotted into the pay scale grade accordingly + an extra 4 grades jump in the pay scale + annual leave paid out at the end on a pro rata basis.

GB

[Capt Fathom]

Cant be that hard to tear a B747 apart can it???

You are right. Putting it back together is the hard bit


What's worse.
Running out of bits before you're finished. Or finishing with bits left over! :E

[Bootstrap1]

Jethro that would be why Forstaff employees feel the way they do.

It is no different to the pre and post 96 pay scales in the current system. Rut it must be one hell of a slap in the face for the Avalon guys to have someone waltz in and be on twice the pay from the get go.

[BrissySparkyCoit]

It highlights the divide and conquer mantra that is seemingly driving through each facility like a steamroller.

[empire4]

I think some people on here are misguided about the pay of forsthaft v QF peolpe. They have a parity clause in the EBA for pay.... Only thing missing is the shirt and staff travel.

[mister hilter]

qf1, are you the ALAEA Fed Sec using a different user name? If so, why not post as ALAEA Fed Sec, or if not can you make your post a little less ambiguous please?

[qf 1]

sorry i'm not the fed sec,it was a cut and paste from the Alaea website :}

[33 Disengage]

Cant be that hard to tear a B747 apart can it???

You are right. Putting it back together is the hard bit If the work is done in Australia at least you know the a/c will be pulled apart, inspected, and put back together. O/s there are to many examples of work just being signed off i.e. Flight control functional checks with no power available on the a/c, NDT inspections with no access provided, etc., etc., etc.

P.S. If you live in AVV, why would you want staff travel?

[arkmark]

Reason 48 not to fly Qantas........ third world maintenance........
Reason 49 not to fly Qantas, Qantas club food
Reason 49.1 not to fly Qantas, Qantas inflight catering
Reason 50 not to fly Qantas, Qantas checkin
Reason 60 not to fly Qantas, degrading staff training
Reason 61 not to fly Qantas, off shoring crews
Reason 62 not to fly Qantas, Qantas staff loosing interest
Reason 62 not to fly Qantas, other airlines are better and just as safe and cheaper.........................

Does anyone sense plain old bad management ????????

[StallBoy]

Typical of all Australian Management:ugh:.

The 787 fiasco will probably be the sad end for QANTAS :(.

[Jethro Gibbs]

Interesting that the ALAEA Fedsec does not comment on this thread must be because they got done over by Qantas / FORSTAFF on this EBA.

[moremj2]

I must be a slow learner....I still have words ringing in my ears from yesteryear like...

Avalon is only there for a cabin reconfig....
Avalon is only there for in seat video mods.....
We are only testing outsourced landing gear overhauls.....
We are only testing resprays being done in China.....
Its only overflow maintenance being conducted short term in Avalon.....
The long term schedule sees more heavy maintenance coming to Sydney....
Of course you will get opportunities with Jetstar when it begins....

They seemed to be about the same times we heard....

9/11 has seen large airlines like Air Wisconsin going out of business....
The share price will hit $5 as part of this initiative......
SARS will cripple the airline industry for years to come.....
Bird Flu has reduced our competitiveness....
Would you like to move to Brisbane on a reduced wage....

This years excuse is fuel prices huh???? Well at least its new.....Oh....hang on....no its not....Or maybe I AM a slow learner.....
:zzz:

[Jethro Gibbs]

Seems Qantas staff are rearranging the deck chairs at Avalon to save there own arse.

[crocodile redundee]

"SlowLearner " you forgot to add the doozey:-

"The A380 will be the greatest advancement opportunity ever for QANTAS"

[Clipped]

The A380 will be the greatest advancement opportunity ever for QANTAS

Now it's the 787 - the game changer.

If only we bought planes that needed no maintenance.

[Short_Circuit]

If only we bought planes that needed no maintenance
Now to quote the fat controller "these A380 will need no maintenance in fact they will fix themselves". :ooh: Wrong......