The central point here is the action of Qantas, the action of Qantas management, is absolutely out of proportion to any action that has been engaged in by the union movement.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and TWU boss Tony Sheldon were personally negotiating the final elements of what looked like a deal, and sources say big hurdles on pay and conditions had been cleared, in principle at least.
Joyce told Sheldon that the demand could not be legally met under the terms of the Fair Work Act – and he maintained that the rest of Qantas’s offer would be taken off the table if the TWU did not sign off.
Mr Joyce says he is hoping the Fair Work panel will order a termination to all industrial action, saying a suspension order might not be enough to get the fleet back in the air.
“Qantas has made a decision to ground its airline, affecting 80,000 passengers, when its workforce has no industrial action planned across the country,” he said.
The Transport Workers Union is calling on Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce to face this afternoon’s hearing and explain why he did not give any warning before grounding the airline.
The decision by Qantas to lock out its staff from Monday and cancel all flights immediately was taken at an emergency board meeting early Saturday and comes after weeks of escalating tension between the airline’s management and unions.
Mr. Joyce said the airline’s fleet of 108 aircraft in up to 22 countries would remain grounded until Qantas reached an agreement over pay and work conditions with the unions representing pilots, mechanics and ground staff.
“Unions rightly give 72 hours’ notice before industrial action, but Qantas management has given no notice before this wildcat grounding of their fleet,” he said in a statement on the union Web site.
The regulator Fair Work Australia reconvened an emergency panel at 1200 (0300 GMT) on Sunday to decide whether to order an end to industrial action by both unions and management.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said his planes could be in the air again by late Sunday if the panel ordered a termination of all industrial action, but he warned an order to simply suspend it would not be good enough.