Qantas is the 11th largest airline as of 2014 and ranked 1st in Australia, whose prime function is the quality transportation of passengers and airfreight across domestic and international routes. Qantas has been successful due to its innovative cost controlling of the business in expense minimisation. However as a result of this, the business has undergone capital-labour substitution and the casualisation of the workforce. This developed workers’ concerns of their remuneration, employment conditions and job security which caused the engineers and ground workers disputes in 2011. Qantas has responded to these workplace disputes with the strategies of negotiation, grievance procedures and tribunals within its contractual and legislative grounds. …show more content…
The Qantas ‘engineers workplace dispute’ of 2011 was the result of workers demanding an increase in remuneration, the diversification of employment and an increase in job security in sight of Qantas’ cessation of workers for capital-labour substitution, and rising inflation. Which required Qantas to utilise negotiation of contractual conditions, grievance procedures for employee complaints, and tribunals for legislative arbitration. The engineers demanded a 4% annual pay rise (remuneration), new classification levels i.e. employment diversification, job security pay claims and to not be outsourced in a new EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement) [1]. They pursued Qantas to achieve this log of claims, through the ALAEA (Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association) union in proposing that contractors be restricted, access to productivity improvements in technology be restricted, and that Qantas build a fully tooled and staffed heavy maintenance facility. These demands were what Qantas’ engineer labour argued as vital in being able to earn a sustainable long term income, as recruitment and selection processes in the modern era are extremely difficult and require …show more content…
Which necessitated Qantas’ negotiating of workplace agreements, grievance procedures and tribunals to resolve employee demands. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) was pursuing for ground staff, a 10% wage rise over the next 2 years (increase in remuneration), for third party labour providers be controlled and restricted (job security) and to be internally retrained to expand employees’ skills (employment conditions) [1]. Negotiations for this failed immediately as both parties couldn’t agree on a balance between worker satisfaction and business objectives. As Qantas only offered a 3% wage increase over the next year, and a 2% increase for the next 2 years [4]. This resulted in the TWU flagging a nationwide strike for 2 hours, as they deemed their demands a necessity to cope with the every changing domestic economic conditions. “We 're not here to piss people off, we 're here to keep the people on side but they need to understand our plight- Qantas are stonewalling us” stated TWU spokesman Mick Piere [4] as ground staff at Qantas demanded for : greater maintenance of employment i.e. salaries and on-costs, work within the business and for non-dismissal of human resources. Which workers need in order
Albers, S. B. (2009, March 13). crisis of Qantas. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from Qantas crisis: http://wenku.baidu.com/view/31572f48cf84b9d528ea7a56
• Qantas had to make an increased profit and pay a dividend to its shareholders which increased over the years of management
One of the many influences that affect Qantas is the presence of globalisation, which has heavily affected the airline both positively and negatively. Globalisation is a process which refers to the increased integration between different countries and economies as well as the increased impact of international influences on all aspects of life and economic activity. Globalisation is responsible for the removal of many trade barriers and the increased level of competition that Qantas has been exposed to. The increased levels of competition has increased consumer sovereignty and forced Qantas to implement strategies to gain a competitive advantage in order to redirect consumers towards their business. Qantas has implemented a cost leadership strategy as a response to globalisation and the influence of cost based competition. One way that Qantas achieved this was by using Globalisation itself to the business’ advantage. Globalisation ha...
David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions, but simultaneously began to put a break on shop floor activism. Explain Brody’s argument and, where relevant, incorporate Weber’s theory of bureaucracy.
... amid nations (Gerber 2002, p. 29). Although there has been a major decrease of barriers to trade liberalisation concerning flight amenities in the last century, there are imperative uncontrollable external factors a business must assess and weigh before entering international borders and becoming a prosperous globally identified firm (Ramamurti & Sarathy 1997). Qantas, a highly esteemed patriotic and iconic Australian brand has demonstrated accomplishment intercontinentally. The ultimate success of their business, in order to sustain competitiveness in their global market, will rely heavily on their continuous assessment of combined political and legal reforms, economic dynamics, sociocultural influences, technological modifications and environmental concerns and their interlocking marketing strategies to gain the most beneficial opportunities that come their way.
American Airlines and US Airways are in the aviation industry. Both companies provide air transportation services for passengers and freight. Together they have formed American Airlines Group, Inc., the world’s largest airline, as measured by revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and available seat miles (ASMs). In 2012 the U.S. airline industry was worth approximately $195billion in operating revenue, up from $154billion in 2009, including an operating fleet of 3,451 aircraft.1
Magic Carpet Airlines (MCA) is in the midst of a collective bargaining negotiation with a union and this paper will present the case from the union’s side of the bargaining table. First, one must understand the meaning of collective bargaining negotiations; this is when both sides of the negotiations discuss wages and others perks and then come to an amicable agreement. Collective bargaining is not a simple negotiation process, because the employer and the union usually meet on more than one occasion, due to the fact that union negotiators must keep their members informed during the process and they must also present any offers to their constituents for a yes or no vote to accept said terms being offered by the employer. The textbook offered the Magic Carpet collective bargaining as a case study and students were asked to analyze the issues being negotiated, determine ways
Despite the growth in the market, Qantas International’s market share has been falling over the past 10years, from 34% in FY02 to 16% in FY13. The entry of Virgin Australia in 2000 in part explains this, however Virgin’s growth also coincided with the demise of Ansett in 2001 “… Virgin Blue will initially increase capacity on existing routes while evaluating what c...
...e Bargaining, Managerial Prerogative and the Protection of Workers Rights: An Argument on the Role of the Law and Regulatory Strategy in Australia under the Workplace Act 1996 (Cth). Retrieved on April 9, 2013, from http://www.google.co.ke/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.law.unimelb.edu.au%2FE8812500-7599-11E2-84E10050568D0140&ei=t0RkUdT0K62V7Ab48IC4Bw&usg=AFQjCNEfV17R8n5eNatsPXKQRxB9bqvUig&bvm=bv.44990110,d.ZGU.
Haynes, P. (2005). Filling the vacuum? Non-union employee voice in the Auckland hotel industry. Employee Relations, 27(3), 259-271.
The employees were having issues and company intermingling had proven to not change without an intervention unless the workers take things into their own hands. Acknowledgements to some valiant employees, where a union was discussed and the idea came to life (Featherstone, 2012).
Traditional literature in the field of labor relations has focused immensely on its benefit towards the employer and in the process equating it to working rules. This has been so despite the field being expected to cover the process of, labor management, union formation, and collective bargain; all which are anticipated to create a positive employer-employee relationship. This relationship is said to be positive if there exist a balance between employment functions and the rights of the laborer. Also important to note, is that this relation is equally important to the public sector as it is to the private one. Therefore, to ensure a mutually conducive labor environment exists, effective labor management process and inclusive negotiation program should be adopted (Mulve 2006; Walton, 2008).
There are many different approaches and theories regarding industrial relations nowadays. In order to mount an opinion on which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory of industrial relations, each theory will have to be analyzed. The three most prevalent theories of industrial relations which exist are The Unitarist theory, The Pluralist theory and The Marxist theory. Each offers a particular perception of workplace relations and will therefore interpret such events as workplace conflict, the role of trade unions and job regulation very differently. I will examine each of these theories in turn and then formulate my own opinion regarding which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory.
Industrial Conflict is a broad and complex topic and conflicts may arise from many diverse issues resulting hostile acts by employers and employees.
The theory holds work to be governed by a wide range of formal and informal rules and regulations, which cover everything from recruitment, holidays, performance, wages, hours, and a myriad of other details of employment. It asserts that these rules are what industrial actors try to determine, that their establishment is influenced by the wider environmental context in which the actors operate, and that the actors themselves share an interest in maintaining the processes of negotiation and conflict resolution. On the back of these assertions four elements are held to make up the system of industrial relations rule-making. The first is industrial actors, which consists of employers and their representatives (i.e., employer associations), employees and their representatives (i.e., trade unions), and external agencies with an interest in industrial relations (i.e., government departments and labour courts). The second is the environmental context, which