Actually, I think that Joyce is playing this quite cleverly, lets
hope he sticks to his guns.

Yesterday he got the overwhelming support of his shareholders, that
this needs sorting out, once and for all.

The unions have been trashing the Qantas brand over and over again
for yonks now, with we will strike, then we won't strike, etc.
Just plain dirty tactics. You can't run an airline that way.

As the unions demanded complete job security for 3 years and refused
to give way on that point, threatening to keep their bully boy
tactics going for months, Joyce has brought it to a head. Better
deal with it now, then drag it out. Just like on the wharves, it
needs a showdown. Out with the outdated 1960s thuggery and backward
work practises, the world is changing, live with it.

If the unions want to run Qantas, their members could easily buy
the company with their super savings. The brand has already been
trashed and is only worth a quarter of what it once was.

Yabby,

What I meant was that Nationalism does come at a price and whether that price is affordable or not the Qantas management and shareholders wants no part of it as it would, even if affordable, diminish profits.

That is a modern business. Profits above all else.

Take it easy.

SD

*That is a modern business. Profits above all else.*

Lets put it this way, Shaggy. If you'd saved all your life
and bought a house and then decided to rent it out, I assume
you'd not think it unreasonable to charge some rent. If I
put it to you that you should let me rent it for free, as
it was in the national interest, despite my earning 140-500k$
a year, would you do so?

That is effectively what the unions want from the Qantas
shareholders.

Yabby,

Obviously not and I do not dispute the need to make a profit and my remarks as to Qantas are a bit hypothetical as I have no idea as to their margins and costs.

I just note that many businesses are profit above all else with little regard for the social consequences.

I also feel Qantas management has made some decisions in more recent times that have placed them where they are now.

It may appear to be nothing more than a dispute between management and unions but I sense the problems are far deeper rooted than that and have been allowed to build up over time to the current blame game situation that now exists.

Too many decisions too late, having a dramatic effect on all concerned.

Take it easy.

SD

SD, thier profit margin is around 4% net.

Now if you had a lazy $100K to invest, and you could buy a business, or part there of, risks included, at a 4% return, or, you could get 5.5% from the bank, no risk, which option would you take.

Well, this is exactly what qantas is facing.

Furthermore, this 4% profit can turn into a loss with a simple event like 1 or 2 cents per Lt increase in fuel costs, that's how fine margins are today.

The risk for Qantas now is that their competitors could well bury them for good by simply starting a discount fare war, which they can because they pay something like 25% less in wages alone.

Of cause if this happens, Qantas staff will be highly paid, but without jobs.

My fear is that to much damage has already been done and if this happens it will be a national disgrace and the unions will have blood on thier hands.

But of cause, they will blame management.

Once these unions got the power back, the writing was on the wall, it's just that you can't see it sitting on the other side of the fence.

Does anyone know how much people like the baggage handlers get paid?