Issue No 107 | 17 August 2001 | |
NewsQantas Threatens Bangkok Workers
Despite talk of moving its operations offshore, Qantas management have threatened to close their Bangkok base if workers there join a union and work collectively for higher wages and better conditions. The Thai-based workers, paid one-third the rate of Australian staff, have been actively organising with the Flight Attendants Association who employed a full-time organiser in Bangkok. Qantas established offshore bases in Bangkok and Auckland in a bid to avoid Australian wages and conditions and cut labour costs. There is now talk that Qantas is looking at expanding its offshore bases. But Qantas management have met with the workers and the labour hire company that engages them, ADECCO, warning them that they will not have jobs if they join the Association. The FAA's Johanna Brem says the actions of Qantas constitute a blatant and provocative attempt to deny individuals their legal right to organise themselves into a union and bargain collectively. She says that the position is in breach of the International Labour Organisation's Conventions 87 and 98 on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Rights. Thre FAA has been backed by the NSW Labor Council which has written to Qantas calling on it to review its strategy of placing non-unionised workforces offshore. "We are urging Qantas to reconsider its practise of using a third party to regulate the employment of Thai crew and to forge a more productive and less intimidatory relationship with your employees," Labor Council secretary John Robertson says.
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Interview: What's The Deal? Labor's IR spokesman Arch Bevis explains how a Beazley Government will rebuild our broken system. E-Change: 2.3 The State of the Union White hope or white elephant? The future of trade unions is by no means guaranteed in the networked society. Industrial: Into the 21st Century ACTU President Sharan Burrow looks at the landmark deal delivering workers 12 months paid maternity leave. Unions: The Black Hole Jim Marr goes inside Stellar to discover the human cost of a management philosophy that says: you are on your own. History: The Age of Dissent The Sydney Branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History has organised a Conference on Social Protest Movements and the Labour Movement, 1965-1975. Media: ABC and the Knowledge Nation Tony Moore looks at how the national broadcaster's fortunes are closely linked to the Knowledge Nation Agenda International: Brazil�s C.U.T. - When Big Is Beautiful The CFMEU�s Phil Davey drops in on Brazil�s equivalent to the ACTU, the Central Unica Dos Trabalhadores (CUT). Satire: Bracks Disputes Cabramatta tag Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has called for a national council to decide on a location for Australia's drug capital. Review: Globalisation Is Globalisation In an extract from his book, Christopher Shiel argues that the official Australian perspective on globalisation is strikingly narrow.
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