Issue No 94 | 04 May 2001 | |
NewsQantas Takeover No Impulse Buy
Action was needed to ensure Qantas does not pick up a cheap labour force through its takeover of Impulse Airlines, the Transport Workers Union has warned. TWU official Richard Olsen told this week's Labor Council that Impulse had been paying its workers far below the industry standards, through out-sourcing their staff. Olsen says the TWU is now working with Impulse employees to ensure they are being treated fairly and their rates and conditions are at least equal to current Qantas employees. And he says the union will be seeking guarantees from Qantas on the job security of both Qantas and Impulse employees "While this take-over is disappointing for the community, who are benefiting from the unrealistically cheap fares brought about by competition, this has shown that the levels of competition in the industry were unsustainable in the long0term," Olsen says. "From a positive point of view, this experience has shown that paying lower rates and conditions to employees still does not guarantee a successful business." The TWU has been backed by ACTU President Sharan Burrow who says the former Impulse employees deserve the same terms and conditions as all other Qantas workers. "Qantas cannot rely on cheap labour and still maintain its commitment to first-class safety and service standards, " Burrow says. "Compared to Qantas employees, the former Impulse staff are 25 per cent worse off under a complicated corporate structure that avoids payroll tax and WorkCover obligations paid by every other employer. "
|
Interview: Global Action The CFMEU has been a world leader in fighting the war on global corporations. John Maitland has been one of the generals. Unions: Sisters United In her May Day address, Bus Union state president Pat Ryan looks at the role women have played in the labour movement. Politics: M1 and the Trade Unions Phil Davey was one of the forces behind S11 but chose to sit out M1. He looks at this week's action. History: Il Duce Roberto? His modern-day fan club might not like it, but Rowan Cahill argues wartime PM Robert Menzies sailed close to the winds of Fascism. International: Cuban Call for Global Labour Rights An international meeting of union representatives in Cuba has vowed to start a campaign to defend workers rights from the effects of globalisation. Economics: The G-Word ACTU President Sharan Burrow asks if there's a better way forward for global trade. Media: Birth Of A Nation East Timor's young journalists are struggling with language barriers and technical difficulties most Australian media professionals wouldn't be able to comprehend. But they're keen and eager to learn. Review: The Tremulous Hopes of the Fifties Behind the the good times mythology of the 1950s was a desperate quest for the ordinary. Satire: Teen Angst Poems a �Danger� The Teen Angst Gun Massacre Affair has broadened, with staff at the NSW Department of Education revealing that �gangs of conspirators� have been found operating out of high school poetry competitions.
Notice Board View entire latest issue
|
© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/94/news5_qantas.htmlLast Modified: 15 Nov 2005 [ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ] LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW |