Labor wrong in Qantas row, says Keating
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Labor wrong in Qantas row, says Keating
I hate it when I have to agree with Paul Keating:
The only other time was when he called the Malaysian PM "recalcitrant"
Labor wrong in Qantas row, says Keating
As an interested bystander I have been thinking the same myself - Labor has screwed pilots again, this time by creating the bureaucratic monster of the FWA that clever corporate lawyers were always going to exploit.
Ironically under the so called evil "workchoices" management and employees would have had to slug it out and eventually come to an agreement between themselves. As posts in other threads have pointed out QF has got exactly what they wanted out of this dispute (right to "offshore" without restriction) and at a minimal cost (FWA imposed paltry payrise).
The only other time was when he called the Malaysian PM "recalcitrant"
Labor wrong in Qantas row, says Keating
Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating says the Labor government made a mistake in intervening in the Qantas dispute.
Mr Keating says rather than refer the dispute to Fair Work Australia, he would have let Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce sit there for a week or two.
"The chances are there would have been no more Alan Joyce, a very good chance. Having taken his airline out, how was he going to get it back," he told Sky News.
"I think the shareholders would have moved and then the board would have had to do something. The unions on the other hand would have had to do something and we would have had a bargained outcome.
"Instead of that we had the Commonwealth deciding it, which saved Joyce and let the unions off the hook."
Mr Joyce grounded the entire Qantas fleet on October 29 and said staff would be locked out as part of the airline's industrial dispute with unions.
Fair Work Australia subsequently terminated the dispute, although the airline and unions have yet to reach an agreement.
Mr Keating said a non-arbitrated bargained outcome would have been better for Qantas in the long term.
He said he didn't want to tell new Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten what to do.
"Except that if the government moves towards the principles in the legislation of 1992, they know it will work because it proved it will," he said.
"It produced a 2.5 per cent inflation rate for 20 years broadly. Notwithstanding the chicanery of Howard and Reith and others, it basically produced moderate wage outcomes and a low level of industrial disputation
Mr Keating says rather than refer the dispute to Fair Work Australia, he would have let Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce sit there for a week or two.
"The chances are there would have been no more Alan Joyce, a very good chance. Having taken his airline out, how was he going to get it back," he told Sky News.
"I think the shareholders would have moved and then the board would have had to do something. The unions on the other hand would have had to do something and we would have had a bargained outcome.
"Instead of that we had the Commonwealth deciding it, which saved Joyce and let the unions off the hook."
Mr Joyce grounded the entire Qantas fleet on October 29 and said staff would be locked out as part of the airline's industrial dispute with unions.
Fair Work Australia subsequently terminated the dispute, although the airline and unions have yet to reach an agreement.
Mr Keating said a non-arbitrated bargained outcome would have been better for Qantas in the long term.
He said he didn't want to tell new Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten what to do.
"Except that if the government moves towards the principles in the legislation of 1992, they know it will work because it proved it will," he said.
"It produced a 2.5 per cent inflation rate for 20 years broadly. Notwithstanding the chicanery of Howard and Reith and others, it basically produced moderate wage outcomes and a low level of industrial disputation
Ironically under the so called evil "workchoices" management and employees would have had to slug it out and eventually come to an agreement between themselves. As posts in other threads have pointed out QF has got exactly what they wanted out of this dispute (right to "offshore" without restriction) and at a minimal cost (FWA imposed paltry payrise).
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Welcome to the real world of the incompetent, inept, indecisive, unwilling and unable to decide anything for themselves. This applies to both management and government who are more than willing to pass the buck to someone else so they don't have to make the decision and then be blamed for making what appears to be the wrong one.
It's all about "independent" arbitration and rulings, and the parties "abiding" by those independent decisions.
Was Joyce wrong in what he did grounding the airline? You bet.
Was Gillard wrong in forcing the matter to FWA? You bet. She only acted as it was an embarrasment for her that the airline was grounded when the CHOGM meeting was being held in Perth and many of the international delegates were booked on QANTAS flights that weekend, and the Melbourne Cup was approaching the following Tuesday.
It's all about "independent" arbitration and rulings, and the parties "abiding" by those independent decisions.
Was Joyce wrong in what he did grounding the airline? You bet.
Was Gillard wrong in forcing the matter to FWA? You bet. She only acted as it was an embarrasment for her that the airline was grounded when the CHOGM meeting was being held in Perth and many of the international delegates were booked on QANTAS flights that weekend, and the Melbourne Cup was approaching the following Tuesday.
