Dixon`s Agenda....Nothing New
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Dixon`s Agenda....Nothing New
Prior to 1988 being a Qantas Flight Attendant was pretty much a part time occupation......low wages,allowances meant nothing,the Australian $ was managed not floated.Most crew needed a second job to make ends meet.Cashing cheques to enjoy slips was nothing new.The crew demographic was mainly single young men.
Seventy five percent standown was clearly an inefficient use of manpower......enter Roger Burrell,Gerry King and the bid system.Aided and abetted by computers and the Girls Union things were about to change.Firstly the Australian dollar was floated and allowances became worth something.Burrell and King introduced an hourly rate of pay instead of a wage.The girls union(a minority) agreed to this and hey presto no more 75% standown and no more allocated rosters..Enter the bid system,goodbye second job.
1988 was the beginning of the erosion of crew conditions and each CEO since has taken alittle more.Dixon is just another in the Queue.
Lets be quite clear Dixon feels that passengers have been overserviced for years.He has cut the guts out of the Qantas service to such an extent that most crew are embarassed about offering it to passengers.Of course there are also less crew to offer it.Dixon has been emboldened by his sheer good luck...Ansett falls over just when SARS hits.He goes to the crew,"help us out things are crook, accept a wage freeze and an EBA a year in effect,oh,and can we please remove a crew member."We will recognize your contribution in the next EBA.Crew pitched in,foolishly,and agreed.Recognition of effort came in the form of the LHR base.
With Howard in power and amajority inthe Senate it ain't gonna stop here.The bid system,seniority,the slip formula are all under threat.Casualize 25% of your work force,overseas bases,try to push up your attrition rate to around 10%(or more).
It becomes a bus service.If your not happy with the food bring your own.This is Ratty`s brave new world.The Spin Doctors(aka The Qantas marketing dept..Headed by Martin McKinnon)will paint this wonderful picture of a perfect QantasWorld....No delays,excellent service,excellent inflight entertainment(if it works)you get the picture.Total delusion.
To beat this deceitful juggernaut the FAAA and the ASU will have to be extremely astute.So far so good,but its going to get a whole lot worse.Start making financial plans..see your mortgage provider,look at alternative forms of employment for the short to medium term.This is going to be a reasonably short(2Months)but bitter fight,which no one is really going to win.The job and the Airline will never be the same.
Seventy five percent standown was clearly an inefficient use of manpower......enter Roger Burrell,Gerry King and the bid system.Aided and abetted by computers and the Girls Union things were about to change.Firstly the Australian dollar was floated and allowances became worth something.Burrell and King introduced an hourly rate of pay instead of a wage.The girls union(a minority) agreed to this and hey presto no more 75% standown and no more allocated rosters..Enter the bid system,goodbye second job.
1988 was the beginning of the erosion of crew conditions and each CEO since has taken alittle more.Dixon is just another in the Queue.
Lets be quite clear Dixon feels that passengers have been overserviced for years.He has cut the guts out of the Qantas service to such an extent that most crew are embarassed about offering it to passengers.Of course there are also less crew to offer it.Dixon has been emboldened by his sheer good luck...Ansett falls over just when SARS hits.He goes to the crew,"help us out things are crook, accept a wage freeze and an EBA a year in effect,oh,and can we please remove a crew member."We will recognize your contribution in the next EBA.Crew pitched in,foolishly,and agreed.Recognition of effort came in the form of the LHR base.
With Howard in power and amajority inthe Senate it ain't gonna stop here.The bid system,seniority,the slip formula are all under threat.Casualize 25% of your work force,overseas bases,try to push up your attrition rate to around 10%(or more).
It becomes a bus service.If your not happy with the food bring your own.This is Ratty`s brave new world.The Spin Doctors(aka The Qantas marketing dept..Headed by Martin McKinnon)will paint this wonderful picture of a perfect QantasWorld....No delays,excellent service,excellent inflight entertainment(if it works)you get the picture.Total delusion.
To beat this deceitful juggernaut the FAAA and the ASU will have to be extremely astute.So far so good,but its going to get a whole lot worse.Start making financial plans..see your mortgage provider,look at alternative forms of employment for the short to medium term.This is going to be a reasonably short(2Months)but bitter fight,which no one is really going to win.The job and the Airline will never be the same.
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Very interesting
Looks like Burrell and King got their cost benefit analysis wrong and Hawke unwittingly did crew a big monetary favour.Ratty is trying to undo the mistakes of his predecessors...Or was he around then?
Ironic that Hawke did the pilots a favour,assuming of course that they receive the same allowances!
Ironic that Hawke did the pilots a favour,assuming of course that they receive the same allowances!
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Simple really.
Dixon is doing nothing more that maximizing HIS returns for the next three years before he jumps ship.
Remember just two years ago and the video globe presentations.
Were they not talking about striving to be the best international carrier in the world........?
Medium/long term reputation of the airline.........?
Geoff Dixon and his management team couldnt give a rats.
They wont be here.
L2P "S.T.R".
Dixon is doing nothing more that maximizing HIS returns for the next three years before he jumps ship.
Remember just two years ago and the video globe presentations.
Were they not talking about striving to be the best international carrier in the world........?
Medium/long term reputation of the airline.........?
Geoff Dixon and his management team couldnt give a rats.
They wont be here.
L2P "S.T.R".
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The is a union precendence!
Three months before 911, Delta airlines signed a new eba with the Delta pilots union, effectively locking them into a 30 odd % pay increase. Now four years on, SARS, oil prices and the airline is still going, and the pilots still getting paid. Even though the CEO has been crying chapter 11 for months and months.
Don't buy any of it!
U2
Don't buy any of it!
U2
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Rhetoric
Australia has come to this:its businesses being run by totally dysfunctional remorseless ill begotten SOB`s.Hudson Fysh must be turning in his grave.Dixon has made more in one year`s salary than John Menadue did in his entire tenure.Dixon`s mother has a lot to answer for.I will never ever travel Qantas again.
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DO THE NUMBERS
The establishment of the London base is supposed to save Qantas $18million.This money is very close to the amount of wage/option increase Jackson,Dixon,Gregg and the directors have just given themselves.Over the remainder of Dixon`s tenure this almost exactly what they will receive.
Rather than save Qantas any money Dixon has come up with a novel way of financing these pay increases by decreasing employee income and presumably receiving a further incentive bonus for doing so.Rather then save money he has merely transferred it to himself and his corporate thieves at the expense of others.A very lucrative merry go round!!
Rather than save Qantas any money Dixon has come up with a novel way of financing these pay increases by decreasing employee income and presumably receiving a further incentive bonus for doing so.Rather then save money he has merely transferred it to himself and his corporate thieves at the expense of others.A very lucrative merry go round!!
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GET THE BLAME RIGHT
The FAAA would have you believe that they were the catalyst for the introduction of many things, as this extract froma note on its website shows:
"21 October 2004
Attention all Qantas Long Haul Flight Attendants
UNION ACHIEVEMENTS OVER MANY YEARS
As we enter our negotiations for EBA VII on November 4 and 5 2004, it's appropriate for all crew to understand the achievements of the FAAA and its predecessors over many years.
Our strength in Collective Bargaining has been our unity and resolve to work together as a group with common interests and common goals.
To put things into perspective we will provide a list of some of the achievements of flight attendants and the Association though the bargaining processes, and often hard fought battles.
* Meal Allowances formula and SDTA ODTA & ADTA
*
* Accommodation in good standard of Hotels (no sharing rooms like some airlines)
* Home Transport Provisions
* No Airport standby's
* Crew rest seats – many airlines don't provide crew rest seats
* Bunks for Long Range Flying (1981 747SP Dispute)
* Crew meals on board
* Part-time work
* Bidding Systems
* Remote Access for bidding from home
* Qantas Shares
* Alternate paxing arrangements (Sign-on/sign-off in other ports)
* Redundancy Provisions well above community standards, redundancy still applying to those over 55
Listed above are some of the things that we all take for granted. None of these conditions were a “gift” to flight attendants by management.
Every one of these conditions were bargained for by the Union and Flight Attendants. The more important ones like crew rest, bunks, home transport and proper Redundancy, often after hard fought disputes."
Perhaps Roger Burrell and Gerry King are innocent after all!
"21 October 2004
Attention all Qantas Long Haul Flight Attendants
UNION ACHIEVEMENTS OVER MANY YEARS
As we enter our negotiations for EBA VII on November 4 and 5 2004, it's appropriate for all crew to understand the achievements of the FAAA and its predecessors over many years.
Our strength in Collective Bargaining has been our unity and resolve to work together as a group with common interests and common goals.
To put things into perspective we will provide a list of some of the achievements of flight attendants and the Association though the bargaining processes, and often hard fought battles.
* Meal Allowances formula and SDTA ODTA & ADTA
*
* Accommodation in good standard of Hotels (no sharing rooms like some airlines)
* Home Transport Provisions
* No Airport standby's
* Crew rest seats – many airlines don't provide crew rest seats
* Bunks for Long Range Flying (1981 747SP Dispute)
* Crew meals on board
* Part-time work
* Bidding Systems
* Remote Access for bidding from home
* Qantas Shares
* Alternate paxing arrangements (Sign-on/sign-off in other ports)
* Redundancy Provisions well above community standards, redundancy still applying to those over 55
Listed above are some of the things that we all take for granted. None of these conditions were a “gift” to flight attendants by management.
Every one of these conditions were bargained for by the Union and Flight Attendants. The more important ones like crew rest, bunks, home transport and proper Redundancy, often after hard fought disputes."
Perhaps Roger Burrell and Gerry King are innocent after all!
