Post by corsair67 on Jul 11, 2006 10:46:05 GMT 12
From todays The Australian.
Will be interesting to see what comes of all this.
Web list of jobs flying overseas
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
July 11, 2006.
QANTAS passengers will be able to discover if their plane has been serviced overseas under a union internet campaign to foster public opposition to the shifting of Qantas jobs offshore.
Eleven of the flying kangaroo's unions - including engineers, check-in staff, pilots and flight attendants - have signed up for a joint website to raise public awareness of issues at the airline.
The unions also hope to use the web to forge closer ties with unions representing Qantas staff overseas. They want to present a more united front against Qantas as it restructures its operations to offset rising fuel costs.
The airline is reviewing narrow-body maintenance in Melbourne and expects to make a decision within three months on whether that work, employing 450 people, will remain in Australia or be shifted to a cheaper country. Many airlines are shifting jobs to countries such as China, where labour is cheaper.
"We're not trying to harm Qantas's brand but we'll certainly be raising issues of concern to the unions collectively through that website," said ACTU aviation spokesman Richard Watts. "One possibility is that we will have lists of those planes which are serviced overseas and we'll link that back to the flight schedules so (travellers can see) whether their plane is serviced in Australia or overseas."
Mr Watts said the unions' efforts had gained impetus since chief executive Geoff Dixon expressed support for the federal Government's new workplace legislation. "Outsourcing and jobs going overseas are issues that all of the group, not just the maintenance unions, have taken up as a key concern," he said.
Qantas said last week it expected to send 10 to 20 wide-body aircraft overseas for heavy maintenance checks this financial year. Airline officials said the offshore work was just a small proportion of the 180-200 annual wide-body maintenance checks and it was not feasible to do all the work in Australia.
Will be interesting to see what comes of all this.
Web list of jobs flying overseas
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
July 11, 2006.
QANTAS passengers will be able to discover if their plane has been serviced overseas under a union internet campaign to foster public opposition to the shifting of Qantas jobs offshore.
Eleven of the flying kangaroo's unions - including engineers, check-in staff, pilots and flight attendants - have signed up for a joint website to raise public awareness of issues at the airline.
The unions also hope to use the web to forge closer ties with unions representing Qantas staff overseas. They want to present a more united front against Qantas as it restructures its operations to offset rising fuel costs.
The airline is reviewing narrow-body maintenance in Melbourne and expects to make a decision within three months on whether that work, employing 450 people, will remain in Australia or be shifted to a cheaper country. Many airlines are shifting jobs to countries such as China, where labour is cheaper.
"We're not trying to harm Qantas's brand but we'll certainly be raising issues of concern to the unions collectively through that website," said ACTU aviation spokesman Richard Watts. "One possibility is that we will have lists of those planes which are serviced overseas and we'll link that back to the flight schedules so (travellers can see) whether their plane is serviced in Australia or overseas."
Mr Watts said the unions' efforts had gained impetus since chief executive Geoff Dixon expressed support for the federal Government's new workplace legislation. "Outsourcing and jobs going overseas are issues that all of the group, not just the maintenance unions, have taken up as a key concern," he said.
Qantas said last week it expected to send 10 to 20 wide-body aircraft overseas for heavy maintenance checks this financial year. Airline officials said the offshore work was just a small proportion of the 180-200 annual wide-body maintenance checks and it was not feasible to do all the work in Australia.
