More redundancies at Qantas

May 7 2003 - Qantas has been accused of sacking staff while boasting about cash in hand and dividends to shareholders.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said that Qantas was clearly scapegoating its staff in a strategy outlined to the ASX today, by imposing all the burdens onto workers and their families.

Qantas have today announced further job losses and flagged workplace change in its statement to the ASX.

Doug Cameron of the AMWU said: "Qantas management should be absolutely ashamed of themselves, they are treating their staff as disposable during this difficult time, while boasting to the share market about their cash reserves and payments to shareholders."

"Qantas staff are shareholders in this company too. They have delivered the profits and the quality of service and safety. Qantas should be repaying that effort during the difficult times."

Doug Cameron also said that Geoff Dixon's statement to the ASX clearly states that the company is profitable and safe.

"Qantas is using the present difficulties as a smokescreen to slash staff and to impose changes. Workers at Qantas have a right to be angry and suspicious," Doug Cameron said.

The Union will be meeting with Geoff Dixon tomorrow, and will be seeking answers about the Company's future directions.

"We believe that slashing jobs and imposing changes will have a negative impact on the company. It is short term thinking, and will damage Qantas reputation for quality and safety," Doug Cameron said.

Geoff Dixon's statement to the ASX included:

- the use of accumulated leave to reduce staffing numbers by the equivalent of 2,500 full time employees by 30 June 2003 and by the equivalent of 1,000 employees between July and September 2003;
- a restructuring program involving 1,000 redundancies, 400 permanent positions eliminated through attrition and 300 permanent positions converted from full time to part time;
- a freeze on capital and discretionary expenditure.

And that further initiatives will include:
- increased use of accumulated leave to reduce staffing numbers;
- increased redundancies;
- expansion of the leave without pay program;
- increased use of part time workers;
- significant restructuring of work practices and activities; and
- reduction of capital expenditure, including retirement of some aircraft and deferral of delivery of new aircraft.

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April 9 2003 - Qantas Airways has announced that 1,000 employees will be made redundant between now and 30 June in reponse to lower passenger numbers due to the war in Iraq, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and general economic conditions.

According to Qantas Chief Executive Officer Geoff Dixon the redundancies are part of the company's ongoing restructuring program to meet the changing aviation market.

"We regret the need for this action. However, it is vital we move quickly to protect our position in a very competitive and difficult industry," he said.

"Qantas is one of the more successful airlines in the world today. We will only remain so by ensuring our labour and capital expenditure base matches current market activity."

Geoff Dixon said that the restructuring program would involve a total of 1,700 positions, including:

* 1,000 redundancies;
* 400 permanent positions being eliminated through attrition by 30 June; and
* 300 permanent positions being converted from full-time to part-time.

9% of management and 5% of wage and salary employees will be affected.

"We are very conscious of the effect these decisions have on the individuals involved and their families," Geoff Dixon said. "There will be extensive consultation and we have in place professional services for all those affected."

Geoff Dixon also said that Qantas would:

* extend the accelerated leave program, which has seen the equivalent of 2,500 people take leave between March and 30 June, to include the equivalent of 1,000 employees on leave between July and September; and

* make further ad hoc changes to flying schedules until conditions show improvement.

Geoff Dixon said Qantas announced on 28 March that it would reduce planned international flying by around 20 per cent between April and mid-July.

"We are also continuing to closely monitor all discretionary and capital expenditure," he said.

Mr Dixon said the global aviation industry had shed over 400,000 jobs between September 2001 and the beginning of the war in Iraq. In addition, airlines had announced plans to cut tens of thousands of more jobs since the outbreak of the war and SARS.

"The global aviation industry is under severe strain," Mr Dixon said.

"Our aim is to protect the jobs of the vast majority of Qantas employees, to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our many shareholders and to position ourselves for the inevitable recovery.

"However, we cannot rule out further restructuring, including redundancies."

Qantas currently employs about 35,000 staff. The Qantas group has increased staff numbers by more than 2,000 since September 2001.

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Qantas dispute drags on

August 16 2002 - The Australian Services Union said that nearly 6,000 Qantas staff will hold a nationwide strike for 24 hours on Monday 19 August 2002 to support their claim for job security at the airline.

Job security had emerged as a key sticking point in negotiations with Qantas for a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, according to ASU Assistant National Secretary Linda White.

"Qantas is posting record profits, but won’t guarantee job security," Ms White said.

"In fact, Qantas want their employees to compete for their own jobs every five years in a bizarre process of competitive tendering," she said.

"No job will be safe as workers race to the bottom to keep their jobs," she said.

Ms White added that Qantas workers had proven their commitment to the airline last year by freezing wages to maintain profitability in the wake of the September 11 induced downturn. She said it was galling that Qantas now refused to reciprocate this commitment by providing job security to staff."

"Workers have shown their commitment to Qantas, so why won’t Qantas show its commitment to us?" she said.

"I think it’s reasonable to expect job security from a business making almost $2 million a day in profits," she said.

Qantas delivered a profit of $597 million in 2000/01, and is expected to post a profit next week of around $630 million for the financial year 2001/02.

Ms White said the strike would involve staff in check-in and telephone sales, freight, information technology, load control, catering, operations, administration and finance, engineering and maintenance, Qantas Holidays and Business Travel. She said flight delays would be expected, however customers should have their flights changed by Qantas so as to minimise inconvenience.

"It is regrettable that some delays will occur, but the ball is very firmly in Qantas’ court. This could have been avoided if Qantas was prepared to offer job security commitments," Ms White said.

"Qantas has simply refused to budge from its hardline position that workers cannot have any job security," she said.

"Our members will be working to contact customers over the weekend to help make arrangements to minimise any inconvenience," she said.

Ms White said ASU representatives had met with Qantas management on August 8 and August 13 to continue negotiations following a twelve hour stoppage on Friday, August 2.

February 22 2002 - At the end of January, QANTAS stood down 200 maintenance workers from the Qantas Maintenance Base in Sydney. The remaining 700 workers walked out in sympathy.

The Assistant National Secretary of the AMWU, Mr. Dave Oliver said that this move by Qantas was an attempt to bully workers.

"Workers will not be bullied, and this action by Qantas only strengthens their resolve to gain a fair and equitable agreement", he said.

The AMWU said its members had very clearly indicated at a mass meeting during the previous week that they were determined to fight for a fairer agreement.

"If Qantas was serious about sorting this dispute out with its workers it wouldn't be standing 200 workers down." Mr. Oliver said, adding that: "Qantas needs to sit down at the negotiating table and talk about what issues need to be addressed to end this dispute. That's what these workers want." said Mr Oliver.

On February 1, after a hearing at the Industrial Relations Commission in Melbourne, Qantas Executive General Manager Human Resources, Kevin Brown, called on both unions to lift work bans that had been in place for more than five months and work with Qantas on resolving the dispute.

He said Qantas would continue to stand aside staff: "Not only is Qantas obliged to take this action under the Workplace Relations Act, it could not be expected to keep paying staff who were taking industrial action." But he emphasised that Qantas' action in standing aside employees would stop as soon as the bans were lifted.

The unions then took out an injunction in the Federal Court, the hearing of which was adjoruned on February 4 when QANTAS after Qantas agreed to end the practice of standing down workers unable to do forced overtime.

On February 22, Senior Deputy President Watson at the AIRC stated that the dispute:

"remains no closer to resolution today than when the s.99 notification was lodged on 23 November 2001.

"The most recent conference occurred on 21 February 2002, without positive progress. Indeed, a further day for conference on 22 February was abandoned upon my judgement that progress would not be achieved and that a further day of conferences at this point would be of no benefit."

He recommended that the two sides accept his recommendation last year that:

"However, recognising that agreement may not be achieved, an alternate process may be required to resolve the matters in dispute. The private arbitration proposed by the unions would provide an orderly process to that end. Accordingly, I recommend that Qantas favourably consider participation in a private arbitration in the event that an agreed outcome is not achieved at or before the conference scheduled for 18 December 2001."

QANTAS had declined to accept that recommendation at the time.

January 7 2002 - ABC News reported that Qantas will resume discussions on the proposal to freeze wages, having failed to achieve agreement by Christmas. More than 2,000 employees have imposed work bans and stoppages in their campaign for a 3% pay increase. 10 out of 12 unions have accepted the proposals but the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) and the the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) are saying the freeze is unecessary.

October 22 2001 - Qantas Airways proposed a wage pause and an Incentive Scheme to unions. The proposed deal would see employees receive a lump sum payment if Qantas matched or exceeded last year's profit result.

Unions were told by Qantas Chief Executive Officer Geoff Dixon that the the Incentive Scheme had been approved by the Qantas board at its meeting last week.

"If Qantas is to survive and grow then it must make the right decisions now," Geoff Dixon said.

"Our international operations, which provide the majority of the company's revenue and profit, continue to be affected by the consequences of the 11 September terrorist attacks.

"At the same time, our domestic operations are highly vulnerable to the substantially lower cost structures enjoyed by our competitors.

"In this challenging environment, and in order to secure Qantas jobs with reasonable pay and conditions, we have proposed a wage pause across the company," said Geoff Dixon.

The Incentive Scheme for all employees would be triggered if Qantas matched or exceeded the profit result for the 2001 financial year. If Qantas matched last year's profit result of $550 million, each employee would receive a lump sum payment equivalent to 3% of their base salary, averaging $1,298 for each employee. If the company exceeded last year's profit result, the payment would increase in steps up to a potential 10% of base salary.

"The proposals we have put to the Unions today are designed to protect, and hopefully grow, Qantas jobs and to ensure Qantas establishes itself as one of the strongest airlines in the world," Geoff Dixon said.

"However, we have also told the Unions that there are likely to be job losses as a result of the continuing international downturn.

"Qantas management will be holding further meetings with all Union groups over the coming weeks and any redundancies will be handled in close consultation with the Unions and all possible measures will be examined before anyone is made redundant."