Qantas the next Patricks?

Qantas's Warfare Agenda Exposed

By BossWatch

Qantas management is prepared for an industrial showdown and believes "now is the time" to bring on a major dispute with unions, according to an internal briefing not for management.

The document came to light in a week where maintenance workers from the AMWU and AWU voted to reject Qantas' zero wage rise offer.

The leaked briefing paper from a meeting of Qantas production managers shows that Qantas is prepared to bring on a dispute to meet its long-term objectives.

The notes for one of the managers states that Qantas would "use this dispute as a catalyst for change and better work behaviours. It also pre-empts controlling access to Annual leave and Rostered Days Off to promote the airline's industrial agenda.

Australian Workers Union national secretary Bill Shorten said Qantas had dragged out negotiations for six months.

"Qantas is saying that Christmas is the time to take on its workforce," he said. "So if there are any unhappy Qantas passengers worried about flights, they should be ringing Qantas and saying, `Why are you picking a fight with your workers at Christmas?"'

Shorten told the Melbourne Age that the airline was trying to imitate a "Patrick-style" waterfront dispute "with a prearranged plan to declare war on its own workforce".

For further information

Contact:   Paul Howes
Phone:   02 9264 1691
Fax:   02 9261 3505
Email:   p.howes@labor.org.au
WWW:   http://bosswatch.labor.net.au