TWU: Employees question cabin crew redundancies
03-Jun-2011 Qantas employees are questioning the motives of management after the airline announced yesterday it would be offering redundancies to 7000 cabin crew across the groups operations.
TWU national secretary, Tony Sheldon, said the tactic did not make sense given the increasing profits of the airline and projected growth figures.
"We need cabin crew on all flights - it is a regulatory requirement and a service requirement, not to mention the safety aspect," Mr Sheldon said.
"Qantas/Jetstar is still predicting massive growth over the coming 12 months both internationally and domestically. They still need cabin crew to manage the flights.
"Just like they have replaced Australian pilots with cheaper overseas trained pilots, they will want to do the same with the cabin crew. They will pay less, they will not pay superannuation. This could also be a form of tax avoidance - which affects all government services.
"This is yet another attack on Australian wages and conditions. I would like to call on management to actually identify who will be managing the cabin on all flights - because there is a massive hole in their reasoning
"It is also a two-edged sword. The company is trying to have a confrontation with the workforce - and it is timed to take advantage of outsourcing of cabin crew at lower wages," Mr Sheldon said.