The Transport Workers Union of Australia has produced a video about what it is doing to protect quality Australian jobs at Qantas despite the management’s ambitions to outsource work to overseas destinations.  Outsourcing and deunionisation are now common themes in all aviation workplaces, and the union is resisting these ‘profit before people’ policies.

The Office of the President has denied a motion for reconsideration by the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) and affirmed its earlier ruling allowing Philippine Airlines to lay off 2,600 employees and make them contractual workers in third-party service providers.

Gerry Rivera, PALEA President and a Vice-Chair of the ITF Ground Staff Committee, slammed the decision by saying “With the Office of the President’s decision permitting PAL to retrench thousands of workers despite billions in profit, PNoy has unveiled his fire-all-you-can policy. This overturns the provisions of the Labor Code and jurisprudence of the Courts that serious financial losses are a necessary ground for retrenchment.”

PALEA is consulting its lawyers who only received the decision recently, on the next legal steps to be taken. The union has announced a protest action for next Monday against the decision.  Rivera will also ask for support from fellow airline unions in the Asia-Pacific region, which have gathered in Manila for a seminar on the aviation industry organised by the International Transport Workers Federation.

View the ITF’s PALEA Campaign page the full press release here <http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/campaigns-3396.cfm

Members by now will have had time to absorb the detail of the announcement by Alan Joyce about the future of Qantas international flying.

As the announcement impacts international flying in the first instance, the FAAA Domestic/Regional Division is sensitive to our colleagues in the FAAA International Division as their members will feel the most impact of these announcements. It is therefore appropriate that our International Division be given the opportunity to deal with the announcement and make any comment on behalf of their members.

Suffice to say, there is no doubt that the decision to reduce the Qantas international network and create new airlines based in Asia will stagnate future employment prospects for Australians and create a feeling of long term job insecurity for its loyal and dedicated employees who must be fearing ‘are we next?’ Perhaps, the decision makers should drop the slogan ‘the Spirit of Australia’ from their repertoire because this is not the Australian way.

The Aviation Unions Federation (comprising FAAA Domestic/Regional Division, TWU, ALAEA and as of yesterday, AIPA) is currently in discussion regarding a nationwide campaign to ensure the Qantas Board does not “sell the farm” from under Australians and concentrates its’ efforts in keeping jobs “downunder”.

Written and authorised by Jo?Ann Davidson, Divisional Secretary

Briefing on the Gulf airlines in Australia, in regards with the Lowy Australia- Gulf lecture: the Shifting Geo-politics of Aviation.