"The Qantas story in 2011 is in many respects a microcosm of the global dynamics of our time: people and nations trying to make sense of and get ahead in a world that is unstable, hot and crowded"

Yes, it is seeing how our future will unfold, Fear used to divide us with false tales of greed made by those greedy for their own job security. It seems many think if the unions win in their push for job security, it will reduce the job security for them, so of course the unions are baddies. Qantas employees are too be the sacrificial lambs.

Smallish company, not performing very well paying CEO big boy western economy salary, wants all the benefits of Brand Australia, Australian safety reputation, Australian excellence and Australian rights but wants no Australian working full time on average wages. Countries like NZ who have made no contribution now earnng tax revenues that should be in our coffers.

If true that we cannot compete then lets all take a 20% pay drop, including execs as they are no Steve Jobs lets face it, or perhaps lets talk about mutual benefits. USA pays a lot to provide a brilliant staging post for the worlds greatest companies, yet they do not want to repay for that privilige, and so we see taxes avoided and the massive debt levels occur.

We cannot afford for long to provide first world business environment if they are to cherry pick and avoid social responsibilty and deny us a return on our collective investment.

And it will get worse, Qantas dispute is symbolic of the degradation of humans based on career choice and sold as globalisation and outsourcing. It is truly the worst of human traits, only one step from slavery but very much the exact same mindset. I do blame globalisation. No evidence it is good for anything.

I agree with much of what you TheMissus have to say. I think now is a really important time for us to be thinking about what globalisation means. I am intrigued by how the functioning of nation states that dominated the 20th century are changing today (especially debt problems on both sides of the Atlantic) and what this means for us in Australia. I'm also conscious that much of how our own society runs benefits too greatly at the expense of those in the third world.

I suppose this is all part of what engages me about the Qantas situation.

what globalisation means.
Will T,
globalisation doesn't actually mean anything, it's merely a term very conveniently used by money mongers to not describing themselves as greedy although they are very much so.
Business people make up only a fraction of them. Public servants & unionists take a lot more of our money than all others. combined

We are all in control of our own destiny, however, if enough of us choose the cheapest deal we can find, a win for me at any cost, then we will all face the consequences of such actions.

I have been warning fo years that we are headed for bad times.

Unions and the government alike just keep pushing the increased costs of living onto th employers and many of them are now at breaking point.

As I have said before, Qantas is just the beginning, so brace yourselves.

As a business man for some 22 years, I can tell you it now sucks.

Th pendulum has swung and I seriously doubt it will swing back for a long time as the one thing we need more than anything else, is certainty, and that is simply not there.

Who cares if QANTAS folds?

Keating was very happy to sell it off, and punters bought shares hoping to make a killing for doing SFA for their lazy dollars tucked away into shares.

Australia has no right to regard is as anything other than another airline that is run badly.

If it folds, it folds.

It's not as if we get cutprice travel with them is it?

Who cares about QANTAS?

Are we to bleat when Toyota folds its car making here, because it is an 'Australian' company?

I hope not.

Maybe we should get the Chinese to buy it?

*Who cares if QANTAS folds?*

Well TBC, it seems that the 35'000 employees care so much about
their cushy jobs, that they inadvertantly prepared to trash
the company to try and preserve them. That strategy is doomed
to failure, but union leaders are not known for intelligence.

*and punters bought shares hoping to make a killing for doing SFA for their lazy dollars tucked away into shares*

You mean those silly mums and dads who believed the Govt spin, when
it was flogged off. Commonly they are grey nomads commonly just
wanting a safe and regular return on their hard earned savings,
so that they can retire in tranquility. Not much different then
if you rent your house out, you'd expect a bit of rent.

Why would a 3-5% dividend on shares be any different to your
expectations that tenants in your house actually pay rent