In NSW the company can direct you to take LSL or Annual leave.

Other option is they can sack 55 LAMEs.

65 LAMEs were going to be forced out the gate in the next month or so. They can now continue their careers for the next year, minimum. This gives a bit of breathing space to deal with what is over the horizon for probably the vast majority of QF LAMEs (and the huge no's of managers employed "lead" them) if Mr Nasty stays around.

It's a sad state for the few who are whinging and moaning about being "forced" to take a couple of blocks of leave so as to save 65 jobs. Greedy F@*ks!!! If you don't like it you have a couple of weeks to put your hand up for VR. Good riddance!!!

Good work Steve. Dealt with a sh!t sandwich, you have made it somewhat digestable.

Looks like the ALAEA has once again done the leg work for the AME unions. Instead of engaging with the company on behalf of their members, the AME reps had their snouts in the trough. Only interested in themselves. Poor leadership from the top of their union right down to the reps on the floor!!!

So are you going to make people take a pay cut while there's still others with a heap of annual saved up?

At least get the proposed forced leave policy out there before they close VR. In fact I don't understand why the VR shouldn't stay open the whole time.

Is there any way to forfeit your LSL rather than take a pay cut?

I couldn't give a f#ck about forced leave its the pay cut I can't handle! I'm not a greedy f#ck! I refrained from OT and watched 380 blokes hook in like it was Christmas!

I'm not someone that lives beyond their means relying on OT. But without shift penalties I'm screwed.

The first expense I'll be cutting will be my union fees. An extra $30 a fortnight would be very handy after a 30% pay cut.

GGF!

My view is that VR should be an ongoing process say offered twice yearly for a month or two (evolution not revolution) also as an incentive for older guys with a lifetime of service to leave 1 to 2 years earlier than they planned and not be out of pocket with earnings.
But not sure how that works with super.

I am sure any forced leave program will start with those with the most annuals and longest period since they took some. That alone will takes ages to work through.

Jet A 1 :{ :{ :{ if you are that hopeless with your finances then maybe you could do 1 shift of O/T to cover your losses. Are you that stupid and short sighted. Lucky maths wasn't a basic exam or you'd still be an ame.
Bring out the violins for these poor people, my heart is bleeding. Damn those 65 LAMEs. They should dragged out the door immediately, there lives upheaved, just so Jet A1 doesn't have to lose a few hundred dollars. I hope your not passing on your morals to your 'young family'.

I am one of the 65 f#ckwit!

Just get the proposed forced leave policy out before they close VR.

I find it very hard to believe the majority support forced LSL. This should go to a vote.

No way. You just didn't say you were one of the 65 facing a $100,000+ a year pay cut now sooking because you're facing a $800 pay cut. Oh that has made my day. Is there really people out there who could possibly think like this. I can't stop laughing, thank you Jet A1.

PM me and I'd be happy to explain my situation further with you face to face if you'd like duderanch.

Sorry too busy laughing.

Laughing and putting sh!t on people with complete anonymity.

Don't assume you know other people's situation.

Jet A One nobody will be forced to take a pay cut. The worst case scenario for you apart from losing your job would be that you keep your job and may have to take 4 weeks LSL. The company can do that anyway. I have written a notice that will come out today explaining it in as much detail as we know.

Maybe though we can take a look at reality. I am tipping (yes this is an assumption) that Qantas will need a lot of overtime because they will have more people on leave. I say this because even today they need more labour to get through the workload than they have. You can cover the loss of shift penalties by working one or two shifts extra a year (remember the LSL itself will hand you at least 8 shifts off).

If you are worried about loss of the LSL itself, work 4 more double time shifts and you have put the same money in the bank and are still two days better off. Add to that the fact that you will be employed for at least one more year and will add four weeks pay to any redundancy payout at a higher rate and I cannot see how you could be worse off.

Lets get this thread back on track 'advice required'

Can someone please help me, I am faced with losing $100,000 + a year or for 2 weeks in that year I face losing maybe $800. I need to know now because if I am going lose $800 I will have to consider the $100,000+ loss option. Can somone please help ?

Thanks for the info Fed Sec. A notice with a bit more detail will be good.

It's just my opinion that forced annual should come before forced LSL.

If you people want this thread to stay open, STOP the personal attacks!!

Yes it will. The option is up to the individual what type of leave they will take.

ALAEA Representatives metwith Qantas managers yesterday and we were advised that Compulsory Redundanciesfor LAMEs in Line Maintenance Sydney related to the announcement from Novemberlast year will not occur as planned by the company. Instead the company willimplement a forced leave program designed to deliver the company the manpowerthey consider necessary to acquit future work. Although leave programs havepreviously been used by Qantas in Flight Ops, this is a first for Engineering.We welcomed the decision; particularly considering the complexities aroundlicence coverage that this program will create.

As news spread we were contacted by many members whoexpressed relief that their jobs were secure for now. Others contacting ussought more detail about the leave program and how it would work with somemembers initially concerned that some of their leave would have to be used in away they had not planned. The reality of what we have collectively faced sinceNovember is that Qantas want to run their business with 450 less Engineers. Aleave program in Heavy Maintenance is not beneficial because all of theemployees from a closing hangar would have to take all their leave until itruns out and then be made redundant as there is no work to return to. In LineMaintenance this is different as work is ongoing. The forced leave option meansthat about fifty LAMEs who would have otherwise had no job will be able to feedtheir families for some time longer. AMEs have also been offered thisjob-saving mechanism but it is currently being blocked by the other unions.

Qantas will provide full details on the leave option nextweek. The key aspects are –

• VR in Sydney will remain open for several more weeks and then close. It is possible that it may be several years before this opportunity is open in Sydney again.
• Transfers to other ports will also be available for several more weeks and then close.
• When all VR’s and transfers are known, a final calculation will be made by the airline to determine how overstaffed they consider the airline to be in Sydney.
• We estimate the final number will be around 50 LAME positions which could be covered by remaining staff taking about 4 weeks additional leave each year.
• In May this year several weeks will be set aside for all Sydney LAMEs to apply for all their leave for the next 12 months.
• In early June LAMEs will be advised if their leave has been accepted, preference will go to those who have applied for longer continuous periods of leave.
• The required shortfall will be allocated by Qantas as per operational requirements. LAMEs will have the choice of taking Long Service Leave or Annual leave.
• The process will repeat the following year however Qantas have reserved their right to withdraw from the program at any time. The ALAEA reserves our right to legally challenge any improper withdrawal.

Although this option savesjobs today, the future is as uncertain as it ever has been. Qantas havecontinually advised us that this may just delay redundancies for 12 months.With current average leave balances well over 6 months per employee it is hardto see how this leave could be exhausted in one year. We do however see this asan opportunity for the ALAEA to work with the airline to identify and bring inadditional work to secure long term employment for members. Some of the knownpossibilities include Atlas and Qantas freighters, A330 reconfigurations,A330’s returning from Jetstar, 787 arrivals and Emirates overflow A380 work.
We understand that some discussion around the workplace hasled to the perception that forced leave may eat into the potential payouts ofLAMEs should a day come when they are made redundant. Some members feel thatthis leave is like a savings fund or additional buffer. Such thoughts may cometo mind, particularly when dealing with uncertainty, however a simpleexplanation can demonstrate that this is not the case.

Any LAME at Qantas today who has 4 weeks leave that theyare forced to take in order to postpone a redundancy by 12 months will gain anadditional 1 year of service. Should they be made redundant at that point theadditional year of service adds 4 weeks to the base redundancy payment. If the4 weeks leave is paid on retirement as annual leave, shift penalties would beadded but the payment is taxed at the marginal rate. The 4 weeks baseredundancy pay that you would otherwise receive is paid at a greatly reducedredundancy tax rate. The net result of the forced leave program on yourultimate payout is about the same in dollar terms compared to those who wish tostore leave. The forced leave path will add the benefit of actually taking theleave whilst saving the jobs of others.

When this idea was first raised by the ALAEA committee itwas met with stiff resistance from Qantas. Management stated that “this isabout getting rid of heads from the business”. We appreciate the acceptance bymanagement of a concept that fell outside their initial brief and hope itsignals the commencement of a new period of co-operation between the parties.

More importantly has been the overwhelming support frommembers. We understand that some of you doubt a path that we may take at times.Some choose to do the opposite of what is required to achieve what we considerto be a fair outcome. Others constantly question actions that need to be takenor talk about change as if it is a foregone conclusion. The continued unity ofa vast majority of members has saved the jobs of many. We thank you for thatsupport and trust that a happier Easter will be enjoyed by all.

STEVE PURVINAS Federal Secretary

PAUL COUSINS Federal President

WAYNE VASTA Assistant Federal Secretary

ACCC approves Qantas, Emirates alliance | Business Spectator

No, like everyone else including the coalface workers, we know Qantas has been raped and pillaged to support and setup of JetStar. it's all very well for a business to have a new venture but transparency and facts should be mandatory. In my opinion the CEO has used subjective manipulation of the books to cover up these facts. Jetstar has been suckling off the mother's teat and will never repay the debt.(becaus eteh debt will never be disclosed). Just as Mr Dixon's bonus, based on a successful takeover was NOT a bribe, so is the case Qantas NEVER supported Jetstar to any undisclosed extent. If ALL expenses were apportioned fairly you would see a completely different situation in the financial reports but resources, capital, a weak regulatory and an unethical attitude by this management will ensure the truth is NEVER revealed. (Else we couldn't send +200 engineers out the door)

Fed Sec
 

Thanks to you and those who ran and supported the campaign. Also thanks for the explanation of how it will work. :ok:

The glimmer of hope that there maybe a new spirit of co-operation I found incredibly refreshing. I doubt they will fulfill this but we can only hope.

+1.. I was somewhat sceptical about the forced leave thing but having read some explanations on the concept I am happy that the blokes can breathe a bit easier.

Thanks Steve and the ALAEA team for all the hard work and mindless dribble you have had the "pleasure" of being subjected to on our behalf.