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Qantas' announcement this week about its proposed Low Cost Carrier Jetstar gives us a taste of things to come as we try to second guess what the new airlines creation will mean for existing staff in Qantas and Impulse.
So far the ASU office has had only preliminary discussions with Qantas and Jetstar representatives which have not addressed key issues like the effect on staff of the new airline.
There have been no discussions on where, who and when are there likely to be redundancies. But if the rhetoric is any guide the general code in communications suggests that people will be effected. Although there are assurances of Qantas maintaining the levels of growth overall in the Group, experience tells us that this is likely to have implications for existing staff.
A meeting is scheduled next Monday 8 December 2003 with both Qantas and Jetstar separately so we hope to have more details which we can discuss. After this meeting we will also ensure that local ASU delegates and members are kept up to date on any information received. As always our aim is to ensure that members maintain their jobs and that Qantas/Impulse/ Jetstar properly consults with the ASU and members.
Some good news
If there is any good news so far it is that Qantas have decided to use Impulse as the operating entity for Jetstar. The ASU has an EBA with Impulse as do the FAAA for flight attendants. This EBA was negotiated soon after Impulse was purchased by Qantas and it significantly increased the wages and conditions of staff at the time.
This at least means that Jetstar cannot bid down conditions and wages from the levels so far established in the airline, as the EBA, like the one at Qantas expires on 30 June 2004. If the Impulse EBA had not been used members could have faced a bidding war for the lowest conditions possible as other unions vied to cover ASU positions.
There are still significant issues though as all ASU covered staff at Impulse are employed in NSW and yet Jetstar has announced its HQ will be in Melbourne. We understand that over the next couple of months Jetstar will decide where they want the existing jobs to be located. Our Impulse EBA covers off what happens in such a circumstance and definitely requires consultation.
What do we want to know?
Obviously there are a range of issues to discuss with Qantas/ Impulse/ Jetstar - not the least of which is the bidding process for the work at airports to secure Jetstar work.
We do not expect that Jetstar will automatically award the work to Qantas in every port as was the case for Australian Airlines. We will be seeking to clarify what this bidding process will entail and who will be involved - so far nothing has been released.
We can also expect some impact on areas like reservations, administration and finance, and operations but until we sit down properly with the companies we will only be second guessing what it all means.
So far for reservations all that is known is that Jetstar will not be using the Qantas system or staff and they have short listed a number of contract call centres to perform the work. Our impression is that direct Jetstar staff will be employed in call centres in the future but no real details are known yet.
The release of the routes will no doubt give staff some indication of what to expect. With all the talk of leisure routes and the number of leisure travellers we will be calling on the companies to clarify who is affected sooner rather than later.
What can you do?
As information is received we will be holding meetings with delegates and staff so watch out for these in your local area.
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