Issue No 117 | 26 October 2001 | |
NewsUnions Call for Air Price Floor
A union leader has called for the re-regulation of the aviation industry, with minimum prices imposed to prevent the discount wars that led to the demise of Ansett and now threaten to undermine wages and conditions within Qantas. The call from the Australian Service Union's Michael Want follows news that his members in Ansett call centres had been the first victims of compulsory redundancy since the airline's collapse. Want directly blamed the price wars, where carriers were offering unsustainable prices to attract market share, as a major contributor to the current crisis in the industry. "We need a central body setting a minimum level under which prices should not be allowed to fall," Want says. "It would at least bring back some sanity to the industry." "This would protect both workers and the public from market-driven collapses of essential services like airlines." Qantas Unions Face Pay Freeze Meanwhile, Qantas has released one million bargain basement domestic fares the same week it has told staff times are so tough that the will have to cop a wages freeze. Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon briefed more than a dozen unions with members in Qantas this week, placing up front the airline offer of a wages freeze, with bonus across the airline if profit targets are met. The offer is the opening gambit in enterprise negotiations that will heat up immediately after the federal election, with the protected bargaining period already commenced. Apart form the wages freeze, key areas of union concerns include Qantas' plan for establishing a low cost carrier with inferior wages and conditions and an expansion of their foreign bases in Auckland and Bangkok.
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Interview: Brothers In Arms Labour historian Marilyn Dodkin explains how she exposed ASIO ties with Labor Council's Cold War leadership. Politics: Defending the Faith Launching 'Brothers', Premier Bob Carr gave his own take on the allegations that union leaders worked with security agencies during the Cold War. History: Surviving the Split In this extract from 'Brothers' Marilyn Dodkin, looks at the manouverings around the establishment of the DLP. International: Viral Attack Postal unions in the USA are mobilizing to protect their members from the widening repercussions of an apparent bio-terrorist attack. Unions: A Living Wage The ACTU this week unveiled its claim for the 2002 Living Wage Case. Here's what they'll be arguing. Campaign Diary: Week Three: Wave Them Goodbye In a week when our boys and girls went off to war, Labor fought a desperate battle to fight the election on the home front. Human Rights: Colombia's 'Dirty War' Against Unions It might be tough being an organiser in Australia under the Howard Government, but spare a thought for Colombian trade unionists. Review: Red Rag Unfurls Ian Syson is an upfront, knockabout bloke. He heads up a new, small, independent publishing outfit called Red Rag Publications. Satire: New Hope for Labor: Mackerras Tips Liberal Win The electoral hopes of the Labor party have revived dramatically, after the perennially unreliable analyst Malcolm Mackerras forecast a huge victory for the Liberals.
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