SYDNEY - Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is no stranger to clashing with unions. But his extraordinary move to ground the airline's global fleet over labor unrest is his biggest gamble yet and has angered unions, passengers and the Australian government.
The increasingly bitter dispute, which has dragged on since September, covers the sensitive issue of jobs in Australia being outsourced to Asia and even the very survival of the iconic 90-year-old national carrier nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo."
MY VIEWS:
When the workers go on strike, they disrupt the operations and cause inconvenience to the public. In this interesting case, it is the management of Qantas that took the unusual decision to "go on strike" and ground its operations.
I respect the actions taken by the Australian unions in fighting for the rights and job security of their members. Many businesses find ways to increase their profits at the expense of their workers, and the profits can be absurdly large. I do not know if, in the case of Qantas, the airline has to reduce cost to survive, or just to increase its profits.
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But the reality is that such things will never happen in Singapore.
So does it mean businesses here can increase their profits at the expense of their workers, and the profits can be absurdly large, but being in Singapore, they can get away with it?
Qantas CEO Joyce is a mere figurehead of the powers behind Qantas - the institutions who are majority shareholders. For fronting such a stunt, Joyce is richly rewarded with a over 70% pay raise while the striking union workers and staff face wage cuts and outsourcing threats due to Joyce's "restructuring" of the carrier.
The endgame of Capitalism and free market economics is not greater democracy but market tyranny.
The strike could be the idea of union leaders and a small group of people who have connections to certain political leaders. They might not have the consent of the union members.
The union members might not like the strike but they have to go along in order to keep their jobs.
It is not easy to see through the web of truth
Precisely, in Singapore businesses could get away with anything as far as making money is concerned, at the expense of workers/employees.
The more money businesses make, the higher the GDP, and the higher the pay of Ministers.
The PAP Govt would never allow the workers to override their employers by striking, using the ISA threat as a weapon.
So die, die must keep the ISA regulation intact.
SIA almost had a similar shut-down in 2003, over pay & working condition dispute with the airline pilots union. At that time, this union was the only union not inside NTUC and was actually pro-worker and not just PAP mouthpiece. Not sure whether it's now inside NTUC.
Anyway, LKY was dragged into the negotiations, and he issued ultimatum -- either the pilots backed down, or he will close down SIA, fire all the pilots, and re-create another airline.
According to rumours, part of the ultimatum was also that the PR status of the person in-charge of the pilot union was at stake (he was M'sian PR working with SIA for 20 yrs). He could have his PR revoked. At the end, the pilots union backed down.
Immediately, the PR status of the leader of the pilots union was revoked, and also the PR for all his family. He & his family was given 48 hours to leave S'pore -- don't care how you sell your property or car or handle your children schooling or whatever.
A smear campaign was also run in the newspapers and TV about this "loose cannon" out to "destroy" SIA and S'pore economy. One of the big guilty sign was that he also has Oz PR. I wonder what about all the PAP elites who have Oz and other countries PR as well. How about GCT's daughter with UK PR? Should govt revoke all their SG citizenship?
The pilots union is now politically controlled. The leader of the union must now be someone approved indirectly by SIA/TH.
@ ANON: 7.42am.
The answer is YES!
Who is going to stop them?
There is nobody left.
Martin Niemöller: "First they came for the Socialists..."
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392
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