The airlines (management, not frontline staff) haven't helped in this area by having luggage fees and then having different rules for carry on. They really need to standardise the the bag dimension and weight rules between airlines and probably increase the weight limit to a more realistic number (I'd say 10 kgs would be fair). They also need to have some external security, at least at the start, to handle people who go over and subsequently go off. Having the same people checking luggage who then have to serve the irate passenger who got their bag relegated to the hold inside a small metal tube for several hours is not a recipe for success. Wether this is done by having big burly blokes at the gate when bags get knocked back or having the check done away from the gate is an issue for the airlines. I noticed at Pargue airport, where LCCs like Ryanair are major players, they actually had bag gauges at the x-ray machines. Basically if your bag didn't fit, back to the check in counter with it. Seemed like a good place to do it since people would be less likely to pull out the tough guy act at an x-ray officer with a few gun toting police officers standing behind him/her.
The standardisation issue is one where the union can really help since they have members in all the airlines (as far as I understand).
Or is it more a case of a union whinging because of extra work THEIR members have to do because THEIR members fail to implement/enforce rules laid down by the airline!
How much influence do you think the frontline staff had in setting the rules they have to enforce? Certainly not as much as the CEO of accounting who will never have to put up with an irate passenger going off at them during boarding because their five trunks of lead samples don't quite fit in the limits while the nearest security guard is 500m away and on smoko.
Unsafe manual lifting is a major cause of workplace injuries, some of which can cause permanent disability and permanent unemployment. So as long as you're willing to pay in full appropriate compensation for such an injury (lost income for x number of years/decades, super, medical fees, refitting of their home, compensation for loss of enjoyment of life, et cetera) just for a bit of "customer service", then I'd say that this is more than just a union whinge.
Workplace safety is not a whinge. In the case of airlines, it can be the difference between the plane landing on the runway and landing in the runway.
I'm not sure if the cabin baggage situation in Europe mirrors that of here as well as the USA.
I'd say that in Australia, it's probably closer to Europe than the US. Full service carriers still allow checked in baggage for free whereas . Checked in baggage fees in Australia are still a lot more reasonable than in the US (except I think Southwest).
*A silver get a real benefit here in that their first checked in bag is free on US Airways and United domestic flights. Saved my at least $50 on my trip in May.