
Issue No 119		16 November 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Qantas Staff Cuts Condemned

ACTU Secretary Greg Combet condemned Qantas' announcement today that it will cut up to 2,000 Australian jobs before Christmas as callous and called on the Federal Government to act on Australia's jobs crisis.

"Only weeks ago Qantas demanded a wage freeze from staff on the basis that this would provide job security. Qantas has achieved a fair degree of support for that position from some staff. Qantas is also spending $1.5 billion on new planes, has been taking on new staff and last month threatened to bring in Canadian jets to meet extra demand," Mr Combet said.

"This decision to cut 2,000 jobs contradicts all of these previous commitments.

Qantas enjoys a position of special privilege in the Australian aviation market with some 90% of the domestic share. With that privilege comes some responsibility to staff and customers. But just last week Qantas was threatening to go offshore altogether.

"These job losses could not have come at a worse time. Australia now faces a jobs crisis, with tens of thousands of redundancies in recent months across the aviation, tourism, finance, manufacturing and communications industries.

"These and other recent job losses should no longer be looked at in isolation. The Federal Government needs to take urgent action to protect Australian jobs. John Howard's hands-off approach to industry policy is not working and should not continue during an economic downturn."

Mr Combet also said many Australians might well be cynical about the timing of the latest job cut announcements, coming just days after the Federal Election.

Unions Bid to keep Ansett flying

Banks and oil companies and other unsecured creditors this week joined union calls on the Federal Government not to double dip on the ticket tax.

These companies believe the government's $195 million loan to Ansett's Administrators should help pay creditors including the cost of workers' entitlements. Like unions they don't believe the loan should be recovered from the assets of Ansett, but should be repaid from the $10 ticket tax being collected for that purpose.

This follows a meeting this week where Ansett creditors supported the actions of the administrator to date including proceeding with the Fox-Lew bid.

In other developments the Anstaff group dropped out of the race to purchase the airline and the administrators met with the government to discuss how the $195 million loan to help pay for workers' entitlements is treated.

Unions remain optimistic that Ansett will remain flying and that Ansett Mark 2 has a viable future.

The ACTU and Ansett unions are holding ongoing discussions with the Fox-Lew consortium about industrial conditions, profit sharing arrangements and the protection of entitlements in the transfer over to the new company.

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Issue 119 contents

Interview: Out of the Rubble
Michael Costa argues that Saturday's election result could have been much, much worse.

Unions: Sixty-Forty Are Good Odds!
John Robertson argues that while there may be many problems with the ALP, union power is not one of them.

Politics: Wrong Way, Go Back
Labor's failure in the federal election is the result of more than bad luck. It is the result of a shift to populism that has left the Party bereft of core principles.

Campaign Diary: Week Five: All Washed Up
If you can stand it, relive the fatefull final week of a most remarkable election campaign.

International: Trade Piracy Unmasked
As the trade barons met in Qatar to chart out their agenda, George Monbiot looks at the machinations behind the scenes.

Factions: The Party's Over
Chris Christodoulou renews his call for a breakdown of the factional system to bring new life into the ALP

History: The Fall-Out
Neale Towart looks back to Labor's reaction to its loss in the 1954 'Petrov election' and finds warnings for today's post mortem.

Media: Elite Defeat
Rowan Cahill looks at the intellectual paucity in the PM's ongoing attacks on 'elite opinion'.

Satire: Crean 'Listens To Australian People': Will Sink Refugee Boats
Simon Crean, the most likely candidate to replace Kim Beazley as Labor's leader, says he will take heed of the message sent to the ALP by Australian voters at the Federal Election.

» Unions Call for Border Review

» Compo Fire Reignites as Bill Hits Deck

» Workers Unite Over Corporate Power

» Day Three: Telstra Privatisation Begins

» Primus Deal Marks New Era in Telcos

» Qantas Staff Cuts Condemned

» Bank Workers Seek Proxies for AGMs

» Blokes Stand Up For The Ladies

» Landmark Community Services Win

» Anger at Sartor's Power Grab

» Consumer Boycott Call for Sugar Co-op

» Apprentices Win Parity with Uni Students

» Competition for Nurses Hots Up

» CFMEU Launches Bunny Club

» ICFTU Reveals 250 Companies in Burma

» Activists Notebook

» STOP PRESS: No Democracy at Telstra AGM