
Issue No 95		11 May 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Letters to the Editor

Qantas on Impulse

The industrial implications of the commercial arrangements between Qantas and Impulse will be significant for the employees of both airlines.

First, there is the question of redundancy for Impulse employees on the ground.

Second, there is the question of wage parity for all Impulse employees. Former Impulse employees wou

d have a reasonable expectation to be paid as Qantas employees on Qantas rates if they are working for Qantas under Qantas colours.

The third significant issue will be the impact on aircrew unions, since neither pilots nor flight attendants are Impulse employees.

Impulse pilots have been employed for some years by a labour hire company, Air Crews Control Pty Ltd, based in Broadmeadow, NSW (also see Flight Attendants article in Workers Online No. 66, 11 August 2000).

Qantas has already shown an active interest in alternative employment practices, including contracting out and competitive tendering.

The commercial arrangements announced by Qantas on 1 May include Impulse contracting to Qantas its eight Boeing 717 and 13 Beechcraft 1900D aircraft, complete with pilots and cabin crew, who will fly the Boeing 717s in Qantas livery to primarily leisure destinations.

>From the outside, there appear to be a number of unanswered questions for airline unions. These include, first, the status of Air Crews Control pilots and Flight Attendants working for Impulse. Second, the arrangement creates a new precedent within Qantas of outsourcing future technical crew employment. The Qantas brand will be flown by pilots subcontracted to the McGowans' Impulse remains in hands. In the long run, this can only provide another model for alternative employment practices within Qantas. In the long run, the Australian and International Pilots Association and the Flight Attendants' Association of Australia may find themselves in a battle to protect job security.

Jim McDonald

Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations

University of Southern Queensland

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Issue 95 contents

Interview: Geek Guys
Two of the union movement�s pioneers in new technology, Peter Ross and Mark McGrath, chew the fat about wired unionism and virtual politics.

Compo: Costa�s Angels
Behind the spotlight of the workers comp campaign four women trade union officials have been burning the midnight oil to protect injured workers.

Legal: View from the Bench
Compensation Court judge and former Attorney-General, Frank Walker, argues the Della Bosca workers comp reforms are a threat to judicial independence.

International: Timor: Time for the Truth
HT Lee was in Dili when the militas ran rampage. Now he wants the truth to come out.

History: True Believers
Frank Bongiorno looks at the origins of the Australian Labor Party, which celebrated its centenary of Caucus this week.

Corporate: Trust Me, I�m a Multi-National!
BHP unions have united across the factions to urge �No� vote on the planned Billiton merger.

Unions: AWAs � A Doomed Future?
ACTU Assistant Secretary Richard Marles plays clairvoyant and predicts a dismal future for AWAs.

Satire: Bush Defends One China Policy - Then Another China Policy, Then Another ....
President Bush today announced a major change to the United States� policy of �strategic ambiguity� towards the status of Taiwan and its One China policy.

Review: Surviving Survivor
Workers Online's Reality TV correspondent Mark Morey rakes over the coals of the Survivor II result.

» Carr Government Avoids Own Safety Laws

» Phantom Employers Face the Flush

» Primus Suspect? Unions Seek Answers

» Big Australian�s Merger Faces Rocky Road

» Happy Hour for Heineken with a Half-Price Dollar

» Arnotts Workers Call for Consumer Boycott

» Asian Women at Work: Daring To Act

» Academic Sacking Sparks Global Row

» Labor Councillors Feel Childcare Heat

» Rail Workers Win Maintenance Security

» Knitwear Company Stitched Up Over AWAs

» Three Stripes and You�re Out

» Unions and Students Move on Harvard

» IT Workers Alliance � Last Call for Comment

» Our News Feed Hits 1000

» Activist Notebook

» The Soapbox

» The Locker Room

» Trades Hall

» Tool Shed

» The Great May Day Debate

» Questions for Macca

» Qantas on Impulse

» Compo: The Great Tradition

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