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Australia's Qantas Airways to take to air once again
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
October 31st, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
October 31st, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
An adorable koala bear who groans in voiceover how much he hates Qantas
Airways as seen on TV commercial spots will have a lot more to hate this
week. The Australian air service is set to resume flights Monday
afternoon after a government labor board ordered it to end a dispute
with its unions. Flights had been grounded over the past weekend.
Labor relations tribunal Fair Work Australia ordered an end to the labor dispute "to avoid significant damage to the tourism industry" after Qantas grounded its jets this weekend. Qantas grounded 447 flights and announced it would be locking out its unionized pilots, engineers, ramp, baggage and catering crews amid a dispute with the unions that has dragged on for 14 months.
The airline claimed that the unions' demands would leave the airline "seriously impaired or destroyed." The labor board gave the two sides three weeks to reach an agreement.
The recent decision "provides certainty for Qantas passengers," Joyce said in a statement. Apologizing to passengers, he said flights would resume as early as Monday afternoon.
The Australian and International Pilots Association said it hoped for a "positive outcome" from the talks, calling the decision to ground the airline a "gross overreaction" to its demands.
"It is a sign that the current management has lost touch with the traveling public, its workers and the basic Australian ethos of free speech," the union said in a statement.
At the airport at Sydney, columns of "canceled" flights illuminated the departure board. Harried passengers crowded the help desk to rebook with other airlines.
"It makes me wonder whether I would book with Qantas again," Isabelle Storer said, who was stuck at the airport with her husband after a visit to the United States.
Other passengers were not that drastic. "For a month or two, everyone will be anti-Qantas, there's no doubt about that," passenger Ron Fuller said. "But emotion probably gets in the way sometimes."
Union officials have accused Qantas of planning to outsource ground jobs at a cost of thousands of Australian jobs, and putting profits first. Pay and working conditions have also been at the center of the disputes.
© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.