Maybe I see comedy in all it’s odd forms (those who read my trip reports will understand that), but if Alan Joyce thinks the following is going to placate his flyers and build up the lost goodwill… he’s in cloud cuckoo-land.
Now that Qantas has resumed normal operations I would like to update you on what the recent decision by Fair Work Australia means for you.
I apologise sincerely for any inconvenience that you or your family experienced during the grounding of the Qantas fleet between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon.
The decision to lock out some of our employees was an immensely difficult one and one that I did not want to have to make. But it was a decision that we were driven to by the industrial action of three unions, together representing less than 20 percent of Qantas employees.
As of last Friday, industrial action by those unions had forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, disrupted 70,000 passengers and cost Qantas $68 million. Two union leaders had warned that industrial action could continue into next year.
This would have had a devastating effect on our customers, on all Qantas employees and on the businesses which depend on Qantas services.
On Saturday, I came to the conclusion that this crisis had to end. I made the decision to proceed with a lock-out, the only form of protected industrial action available to Qantas under the Fair Work Act, so that agreement could be reached quickly.
Unfortunately, it was necessary as a precautionary measure to ground the fleet immediately after the announcement that a lock-out would take place.While I deeply regret the short-term impact of the fleet being grounded, following the Fair Work Australia decision we now have absolute certainty for our customers. No further industrial action can take place. No more aircraft will be grounded and no services cancelled as a result of industrial action.
You can now book Qantas flights with complete confidence. This is an immeasurably better situation than last Friday, when Qantas faced the prospect of ongoing disruptions, perhaps for another 12 months.
We have now moved into 21 days of negotiations with each of the unions with the assistance of Fair Work Australia. All parties will be treated equally in order to reach reasonable agreements. If this cannot happen, binding arbitration will take place to secure an outcome. We will respect whatever decisions are reached.
Regardless of how and when the agreements are reached, the period of uncertainty and instability for Qantas is over. We are moving forward and putting this dispute behind us.
Our focus now is on our customers. We want to restore your faith by returning our on-time performance to its normal high levels, continuing to invest in new aircraft and lounges and ensuring the best possible in-flight experience.
The end of industrial action means we can concentrate on what matters – getting you to your destination on time and in comfort, offering the best network and frequency of any Australian airline and rewarding your loyalty as a Qantas Frequent Flyer.
Thank you for your patience and for your continued support of Qantas
I’m still not sure if Alan’s decision to lock-out the workers was an act of desperation, an act of wanting to get attention from the Government or just something really put up and say “Don’t blame me, blame the unions”.
However, there is a lot of goodwill hurt in this – from the workers, the unions and now – the passengers.
With Qantas’s drive towards Asia to lower costs and seek new revenue streams, this may be “solved” by the arbitration at the top, but the seeds of discontent are well and truly sewn at the grass-roots.
I hate to be negative – but this is not over by a long shot…
Meanwhile, Qantas has agreed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to further compensate passengers affected.
Qantas have stated:
“Qantas agrees to, and accepts, the ACCC’s request that it compensate passengers for all reasonable losses incurred as a direct result of the grounding,”
“Qantas has always intended to ensure that disrupted customers incur no financial loss.”
So get those claims in if you were hit. Details are that it will reimburse passengers up to a total value of A$350 comprising of A$250 for accommodation and A$100 for meals, phone calls and any other costs incurred.
Passengers must keep their receipts in order to make the claims. These reimbursements are separate to refunds for booking cancellations and waiver of rebooking fees that Qantas is also offering.
