Qantas Airlines dispute – a sign of things to come in Australia

Empty qantas terminal.The
2 day shut-down of all international and domestic Qantas flights
seriously damaged the credibility of Qantas and cost it millions of
dollars, but what now is the situation of the dispute and what
implications does this have for the unions, the bosses and a sharpening
of class conflict in Australia?

Leading up to the Lockout

The past months Qantas has been involved in contract negotiations
with the 3 unions who are acting on behalf of workers in 3 sectors, the
Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) who are not
seeking a pay rise, but only that guarantees are made ensuring only
Qantas pilots fly the Qantas planes, the Transport Workers Union (TWU)
which is seeking a 5% wage increase for its members as well as better
job security for casual staff; and the Australian Licensed Aircraft
Engineers Association (ALAEA) which is seeking a 3% pay rise each year
over the next 3 years and better job security.

Considering Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has just been given a 71% pay increase
taking his total base wage without bonuses to A$5 million per year, as
well as other senior management receiving huge salary increases, the
demands made by the staff who actually conduct the core business of
maintaining the planes and flying them is quite modest to say the least!
Yet even these modest demands were too much for Qantas management!

There have been some rolling stoppages conducted by the Maintenance
Engineers during this period, but no all-out strike action. However,
Qantas management decided that’s all they were prepared to take and
decided to go on a counter-offensive. Reports are emerging suggesting
that they have been planning this action for a number of weeks at least.

The Lockout

No warning in advance was given. It was simply announced via press
conference at 5pm on Saturday that Qantas would cease all flights until
further notice and as of Monday employees would be locked out without
pay. Unsurprisingly, the lack of warning created enormous chaos as
thousands of would-be travellers were stranded at airports around the
globe.

If Qantas were hoping their union-bashing campaign would work then
they certainly fell flat on their face. Very quickly a backlash against
the decision exploded and the sight of Alan Joyce squirming in the media
as he tried to justify his multi-million dollar pay rise whilst
claiming the company would “go bankrupt” unless union demands were
scuppered further antagonised the situation.

In the end the case was quickly referred to the FWA industrial court
to make a decision and thereby save Qantas management from further
public outrage.

The aftermath

As much as the capitalist media is spinning this as a victory for
Qantas management, the dispute is far from over. The “Fair Work
Australia” industrial court has ordered Qantas to resume operations, but
written into its verdict is that Qantas and the 3 different Unions
involved have 21 days to finalise a settlement of the dispute. Neither
side can engage in any further action for the next 3 years according to
the judgement.

If no agreement can be reached then the court can make decisions as
to what will be written into the contracts. Needless to say, these
industrial courts historically are no friends of the working classes and
are pretty unlikely to accede to demands made by the unions.

The various mouthpieces for big business are crowing over this as a defeat for the Trade Unions.

Why so? Well although the dispute has reportedly cost Qantas A$120
million dollars directly and further millions to the wider Australian
economy, Qantas’ share price increased by 6%. Elizabeth Knight of the
Fairfax owned ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ stated bluntly the strategy of
Qantas management:

“They took the view an outcome to the industrial dispute arbitrated
by Fair Work Australia might mean some increase in pay for staff but the
pilots and maintenance engineers would not get the job security they
were seeking.

“Qantas was never going to agree to their demands because in the
longer term it needs to restructure its workforce in a way that would
push down pay levels.”

So effectively, they may have to pay out more in wages in the short
term, but in the long term they are free to manoeuvre by significantly
transferring its maintenance operations to cheap wage areas in Asia and
weaken the pilots by opening up positions for lower paid pilots from New
Zealand and its budget subsidiary carrier, Jetstar, leading to an
overall decline in wages.

The Bosses’ offensive

It should be understood that this is not some desperate last gamble
by Qantas. This is an all-out attack and attempt to smash a section of
unionised labour in Australia. It can therefore be likened to the
attempts by the Howard Government to destroy the Dockworkers’ union, the
MUA, in 1998 by Patrick Stevedores.

In the face of increasing international competition, companies such
as Qantas are forced to maintain profitability by attacking the wages
and conditions of its workforce.

This attack clearly shows the real face of the Australian
capitalists. There is daily propaganda and hyperbole in the media about
Australia being ‘outside’ the current crisis engulfing the rest of the
world. This is certainly true in some sectors of the economy for the time being.

However, despite this supposed ‘rosy’ period we are in, the
Australian capitalists cannot afford even modest concessions to the
working classes and what gains that have been made in the past are being
eroded in the form of increased casualisation, outsourcing and an
increased work intensity.

The Gillard Government

The Labor Government under Gillard is now falling all over itself to
create distance between it and the Qantas dispute. The widespread anger
against the actions of Qantas has antagonised a large section of the
population. There are now all sorts of claims and counter-claims being
made in the media as to who knew what in the lead up to the lockout.

Irrespective as to who was privy to what plans, this is yet another
dismal performance by the Labor leadership. As the dispute dragged on,
Gillard made no real statement on the matter and at a time when the
capitalists have instigated an all-out attack, all efforts are made to
kow-tow to the bosses and channel the dispute through the industrial
‘Fair Work Australia’ court, which it seeks to portray as some sort of
‘independent’ referee.

Trade Unions must turn and fight!

The Australian ruling class has shown its hand and as the world
crisis intensifies and the economy in Australia is drawn into this, the
working classes will be further under attack.

Despite all the blathering in the media about the legal
technicalities of any FWA ruling, the whole history of the labour
movement has shown that it doesn’t matter how restrictive the laws are,
or what rulings have been made, they are not worth the paper they are
written on once the workers move into action. Time and again restrictive
laws relating to Trade Union activity have been defeated, but it
requires a bold leadership with clear policies to carry this out.

The next period

The ruling class is watching this situation very closely as they seek
to sharpen their weapons for the confrontations that will emerge in the
coming period. There have been significant mobilisations over the past
few years initially with the Work Choices demonstrations.

What is necessary is a clear leadership with a clear understanding of
the present period. Capitalism has entered into a crisis that is
engulfing the world. Australia cannot escape this and at some point will
be drawn into it. The Qantas dispute is a sign of things to come.

There is no way out under the current policy of class collaboration
and compromise. Only a Marxist leadership with a clear goal for the
Socialist transformation of society can lead the working classes out of
the endless nightmare that the capitalists have lead us into.  Just as the capitalists are preparing themselves for the battles ahead, so must we.