Posts with tag "Unions"
Qantas: Back In The Air, But For How Long? Posted by Geoff Field 31 October, 2011 - 3:59 PM
(Getty Images)
Qantas… where do I start. Writing a blog about this aviation crisis is one of the most difficult I've ever done.
On one side unions and pilots are worried about job security with jobs heading offshore, while on the other management claim they need to be competitive to survive in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
I do however think it was a bad look that Alan Joyce was given a 2 million dollar bonus just 24 hours before he announced the grounding of the entire Qantas fleet.
On the weekend the normally conservative Pilot's Association claimed the action of grounding of the fleet was "pre-meditated, unnecessary and uncaring".
I'm no aviation expert, so I'm having difficulty working out what the answer to all of this is, but one thing's for sure, the once invincible Qantas is on shaky ground, and I can't see a simple solution in sight.
One thing I will say is that it's going to take a miracle for Qantas to come through this without being severely damaged in the long term.
There are a lot of angry passengers who are unlikely to fly with them again after what happened at the weekend, and would you take the risk of booking Qantas over Christmas/New Year knowing how delicate the situation is?
It's easy to blame the management or the unions, but I still don't know who's right and who's wrong.
At least planes are up in the air again, but for how long? Sunday night's Fair Work Australia hearing has rattled unions, and you can bet they are planning their next move.
It's very sad to see our once great national carrier involved in such a bitter and angry dispute, which is now threatening its very future.
Can Qantas bosses and its employees work together to keep the flying kangaroo in the air?
