News today that the $11 billion sale of Qantas has been approved by the Howard government will be deeply disappointing for Qantas staff.
Workers at Qantas are opposed to the airline being sold to the private equity consortium Airline Partners Australia (APA).
This opposition largely stems from the many concerns Qantas staff have about future job losses at the airline once it falls into private hands, and I share these concerns.
The deal worked out between the Howard government and Airline Partners Australia is particularly vague when it comes to guaranteeing jobs for Australian workers. It ties jobs and future job growth at the airline to ‘market conditions’, which will offer little comfort to the thousands of Australian workers currently employed by Qantas.
The outstanding issue regarding the sale of Qantas is the uncertainty it creates for Qantas workers and their families. In employment, people need certainty, especially when it comes to planning household budgets, meeting mortgage repayments, meeting the costs of raising a family and so on.
Calwell is home to both the Melbourne Airport and to a large number of Qantas workers, some of whom have written to me expressing their opposition to the sale of Qantas.
Once Qantas becomes a privately owned company, our ability to make sure that future changes to the airline’s operations remain in the national interest, and in the interests of existing Qantas workers, becomes all but redundant.
Australian’s take pride in Qantas and rightly feel a sense of ownership over the company. They don’t want to see our national carrier fall into the hands of overseas companies. And they don’t want to see the airline fall victim to market interests over and against what should be in the national interest.
Contact: Alex Kouttab 0417 541 465
