
Issue No 113		28 September 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

The Ansett Phoenix Rises

Ansett is back flying thanks to the resilience of its employees and their unions and an adminstrator who cares about jobs and consumers more than the Federal Government.

Ansett, not long ago described as a carcass by the Minister Apparently In Charge Of Aviation John Anderson has made the first significant steps in its resurrection.

The first Ansett flights between Sydney and Melbourne take off tomorrow with 5 Airbuses doing 24 flights on the hour. It is expected that there will be 11 planes in the sky by early next week. The Hazelton/Kendall subsidiaries have resumed the bulk of their services including the Sydney-Canberra route which recommenced today. Some freight runs will start up soon with the priority being the servicing of Tasmanian fishing ports.

Employees And Their Unions Sustain The Pressure

Ansett workers the length and breadth of Australia have sustained pressure for intervention by the Government to step in and give Ansett a fighting chance of survival.

On Wednesday there were about 30,000 pledges handed to the Administrator from members of the public who have pledged that "I'll fly Ansett" when it gets up and running again.

A road trip from Sydney to Bathurst via Jackie 'The Blip' Kelly's office in Penrith by Sharan Burrow and a minibus full of Ansett workers was a resounding success on Thursday. By the end of the day the Administrator for Hazelton Airlines announced the resumption of flights to Bathurst.

There are a number of actions that are planned for the next week (see below).

The Union Survival Plan

While Howard and Anderson have been sitting on their hands hoping Ansett would remain buried in a media preoccupied with New York terror, the ACTU and Ansett unions have crafted a 4-point plan that gives Ansett a fighting chance of survival.

ACTU Secretary Greg Combet says while they do not want to raise false expectations, the unions are committed to getting and keeping Ansett back in the air.

"The magnitude of the Ansett debacle is in large part due to corporate and government inaction. The choice for the Howard Government is stark: support a plan to revive Ansett, or facilitate its liquidation and the loss of tens of thousands of Australian jobs. The community deserves to know where the Federal Government stands," Mr Combet said.

Key points of the plan are:

A Rescue Plan - the only real option to protect the tens of thousands of jobs at risk, to give consumers a real choice and to maintain the viability of regional Australia is to relaunch Ansett with Government leadership and a focussed business plan.

Urgent and Concrete Government Leadership and Action -the ACTU and unions' plan requires the Government to:

� Bring all the parties together - the Ansett Administrators, State Governments, creditors, unions and potential buyers - to facilitate the development of a viable plan for the airline

� Inject a minimum $200 million into Ansett in the form of equity or a capital injection

� Support the recovery of funds from Air New Zealand

� Guarantee regional services

� Assist enterprises which are reliant on Ansett business

� Commit a substantial proportion of Government air travel to Ansett

A Viable Business Plan To Build A Resurgent Ansett - a sound business plan will make Ansett commercially viable. Key steps in developing a viable business plan include:

� Working with financial institutions to alleviate Ansett liabilities

� Preserving assets and maintaining the integrity of the Ansett group

� Restoring profitable routes as soon as possible

� Maximising jobs and guaranteeing entitlements

Putting People, Families and Regions First - Ansett is not a carcass. It is an entity with a heartbeat provided by its employees, their families and the communities and regions it services. Practical measures needed include:

� Financial assistance and short term relief for families experiencing hardship

� The earliest possible resumption of services to the regions

Opportunities To Support Ansett Workers Coming Up

� Saturday 29 September, AFL Grand Final, Melbourne

Unions are looking for hundreds of volunteers to hand out material (stickers, I'll Fly Ansett pledges, ribbons) at the AFL Grand Final on Saturday. Meet in front of the Museum of Sport at the MCG at 11.15am, Saturday morning. Ansett staff wear your uniforms! Contact your union for more details. ASU got a tremendous reaction from the public when they did something similar at the Preliminary Grand Final.

� Monday 1 October, Family Day in Sydney

There will be a family day for Sydney Ansett workers at the Sydney Ansett terminal at 1pm with karaoke, a jumping castle and BBQ. Celebrate Labour Day and the resumption of some Ansett flights.

� Monday 1 October, Kim Beazley To Address Ansett Workers

9.30am Monday 1st October at the Ansett Terminal Sydney Airport. Unions are asked to have representatives there to show their support and solidarity.

   Visit the Ansett campaign page

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 113 contents

Interview: The Custodian
Labor's arts spokesman Bob McMullan on the role government can play in nurturing national culture.

Media: Chucking a Wobbly
Veronica Apap meets Dan Buhagiar, the programmer of Labor Council's new online initiative, Wobbly Radio.

E-Change: 3.3 Unleashing a Networked Culture
Politics does not occur in a vacuum - it's is as much a product of its culture as it is an influence on it. In the post-Industrial Age how will this relationship change?

Unions: Are You a Terrorist?
Away from the talkback noise, Mark Hearn reports on how a Sydney workforce is taking up the cause of racial understanding and tolerance.

Organising: STAA Performers
Film industry workers are acting collectively to ensure they don't become Mexicans with Mobiles.

Workplace: Making Art Work
The Workers Cultural Action Committee is a community cultural development provider. What is this? And what does it mean for the union movement?

History: Creative Alliances
Neale Towart wanders through the archives to look at how unions' have worked with artists to promote progressive casuses.

Performance: Tales from the Shop Floor
Peter Murphy profiles Sydney's New Theatre and the role it has played in fostering working culture.

Review: Homegroan
In an extract from her new book, The Money Shot, Jane Mills argues that the local film industry needs more than patriotism to get bums on seats.

Satire: PM Pleads To Nauru: Take Our Aborigines Too
In the wake of Nauru�s acceptance of the Tampa refugees, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has struck a new deal with the small island nation to take our Aborigines as well.

» Abbott Stacks Commission on Election Eve

» Trades Hall to Be Fit for the Arts

» Olympic Builders Honoured in Oil

» Terror Shockwaves Hit Security Workers

» The Ansett Phoenix Rises

» 'The General' Makes Ansett Stand

» One Dollar Workforce Highlights Workcover Concerns

» Email Workers Saved

» Union Power Gets Tilers Paid In Full

» NSW Nurses (Pro)Claim Their Worth

» AOL Sheds Non-Union Staff

» Building Inquiry Faces First Test of Integrity

» Telstra Guilty Over Union Discrimination

» Paint Workers Finish the Job

» New Project Agreement A Template

» The Workers United, Need a New Slogan!

» Activists Notebook