Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just when you think Qantas can't sink any lower, it outdoes itself again. It is not enough that Qantas has illegally sacked 2000 ground staff, dangerously understaffed its engineering workforce, threatened its pilots with outsourcing, threatened its international current crew with termination, 'Joyced' thousands of bags, cancelled hundreds of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded around the world, all while taking billions in public welfare and using that money to pay bonuses and buybacks. On top of all this, Qantas is back in the Fair Work Commission today because it is now threating threatening its domestic flight in attendance.

Qantas is threatening its domestic cabin crew with outsourcing unless they sign an agreement that is worse than their old agreement that expired three years ago, an agreement that will require Qantas flight attendants to work longer shifts with shorter rest breaks while making a massive real-wage cut. This is happening right now as I speak.

Teri O'Toole from the FAAA has told me flight attendants are sick of these bullying tactics—and why wouldn't they be? This is the Alan Joyce playbook: essential aviation workers are first forced to push themselves beyond their physical and mental limits for less and less money, losing $37,000 to $50,000 over the next three years. If they don't accept it, Qantas threatens to tear up their agreements and outsource their work to labour hire casuals.

We as a parliament need to tell Qantas that this behaviour is beyond the pale. We need to tell Qantas to stop marketing itself an Australian symbol, because Qantas under Alan Joyce sure as hell does not represent Australia anymore.