QF Easter Strike by Engineers ON

[markis10]

News are reporting that the engineers have voted to strike, that will cause some issues but the actual impact will probably less than what the press are expecting:

Flight workers endorse Easter strike | News.com.au

THE Easter travel plans of hundreds of Australian air travellers could be in doubt after a union representing Qantas and Jetstar profession engineers endorsed a series of work bans.

At meetings today, members of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA) voted to extend overtime bans through the four-day break beginning on Friday.

The professional engineers union said it could not guarantee flights will run to schedule over the Easter break.

 

[simongr]

Guess they havent learned much from the BA strike with many people vowing never to use BA again.

 

[samh004]

What a smart way to prove to QF that your job is really that valuable.

I’m all for unions, I just don’t think striking at key times when it’s make it or break it, is the right way to go. You can prove your point in off-peak fairly easily.

 

[anat0l]

Unlike the BA strike, however, the Australian public will view the entirety of QF as the villain, particularly the management and Joyce (to be more precise). QF contingency plans are also pretty immature, and the rest of the staff who don't strike buckle under the additional pressure rather easily (remember the almost-riots in the Qantas lounges from QPs to even the First Lounge?)

In other words, the unions in this case hold all the bargaining chips and the public's vested interest behind them.

This ain't good.

 

[Travel Guru]

According to a QF comment on the radio news this afternoon, the strike shouldn't impact travellers over the Easter weekend because the engineers in question don't work weekends anyway.

TG

 

[rwatts]

According to a QF comment on the radio news this afternoon, the strike shouldn't impact travellers over the Easter weekend because the engineers in question don't work weekends anyway.

TG

Yes that sounds like the haughty spokeswoman this morning, but given these are "overtime bans" I assume they must often (normally ?) work overtime at weekends in addition to their normal working hours. I guess we'll find out what the effect really is.

Richard.

 

[JohnK]

Whilst I have sympathy with their cause aggravating the public is not going to solve their issues.

Hopefully flying back to Sydney tomorrow afternoon as scheduled for an overdue 4 day break and to spend Easter with my family....

 

[bellsux]

The guys going on strike are desk engineers only that do administrative tasks, very unlikely it will affect your travel plans. The licensed engineers that carry out and certify maintenance, releasing aircraft for flight are not striking.

 

[medhead]

What a smart way to prove to QF that your job is really that valuable.

I’m all for unions, I just don’t think striking at key times when it’s make it or break it, is the right way to go. You can prove your point in off-peak fairly easily.

Having just left a job where my employer completely devalued me and kept telling me they can't complete with industry, despite that i'm one of probably half a dozen people in australia who have my skills and i was only asking for another $10k per year. I think break it time is exactly the time to take action otherwise they'll ignore you. I'd also mention that when the CEO found out i was leaving they decide to hire 4 more people. I still feel guilty at having left and dumped my work onto the others still there, but employers will just take you for granted if they can, and my employer certainly took advantage of my good will (and guilty)

 

[drewbles]

Having just left a job where my employer completely devalued me and kept telling me they can't complete with industry, despite that i'm one of probably half a dozen people in australia who have my skills and i was only asking for another $10k per year. I think break it time is exactly the time to take action otherwise they'll ignore you. I'd also mention that when the CEO found out i was leaving they decide to hire 4 more people. I still feel guilty at having left and dumped my work onto the others still there, but employers will just take you for granted if they can, and my employer certainly took advantage of my good will (and guilty)

I'm still of the opinion if you don't like it, change jobs.

At times when people should be glad to be in a job, they feel the need to strike and demand more pay? Last time they tried it, it was during the middle of the GFC when people were being laid off left right and centre.

Your situation i've been in many times. It's one of the reasons my resume has a few years of very-short job runs, where employers have promised me (in writing) certain terms, and less than zero of them came to fruition.

If we can change jobs with such a niche skill set, they can change airlines (It's not like there's a shortage of them around the world).

That said, my niche skill set has also seen me drop from a very substantial salary to one that's not so pretty in order to keep a job after I was made redundant from a big multi-national several years ago. I've never managed to get back up to what I really should be paid, but that's the nature of my line of work (and the fact like you I have a very specialised skill-set). At least the company I work for now is a brilliant employer and the MD/CEO and all management are open and honest about all things financial.

Sometimes, demanding things isn't the best option. You either need to ride it out if you honestly believe things will get better, or do as you did, and move on (and I also get guilty like you having to leave my job for the other poor people who still work there to pick up).

 

[JohnK]

If we can change jobs with such a niche skill set, they can change airlines (It's not like there's a shortage of them around the world).

You are lucky if you are still able to job hop. Unfortunately my skill set is slowly being phased out and very limited job offers. And when the jobs do appear they offer them to people who are prepared to work for half the salary and only provide a quarter of the productivity.

 

[drewbles]

You are lucky if you are still able to job hop. Unfortunately my skill set is slowly being phased out and very limited job offers. And when the jobs do appear they offer them to people who are prepared to work for half the salary and only provide a quarter of the productivity.

I'd now be in a similar situation, if I was looking for a new job. My job hopping days were when I was climbing the knowledge ladder from ISP Technical Support into Network Engineering and Architecture/Design. Now my knowledge is extremely refined, in a very specific area (2 layers on the OSI model) and a broad knowledge of Satellite and Mobile stuff with Voice in the mix there as well.

I have a friend at my ex-employer who wanted me to go back there for various reasons, but the company wanted me for the price of a junior staff member, who they would expect to do what I do.

It's a common problem in the ISP/Telecommunications world. Companies want to pay peanuts to get gurus, instead of the monkeys they really will get. Gurus therefore are harder to find, and it's often the case the people with knowledge have to settle for a lot less just to keep a job. It sucks, but it's how it works unfortunately.

 

[anat0l]

It's a common problem in the ISP/Telecommunications world. Companies want to pay peanuts to get gurus, instead of the monkeys they really will get. Gurus therefore are harder to find, and it's often the case the people with knowledge have to settle for a lot less just to keep a job. It sucks, but it's how it works unfortunately.

As someone said, "a thousand monkeys on a thousand typewriters will eventually write every great literary work known to Mankind".

Same principle here, although you'd wonder why you wouldn't rather hire a few good men and leave the monkeys in the wild. Damn economics.

It's a common trait across the entire IT/related industries. Additionally, you have to put the blame on outdated economic and project management principles, frameworks and structures (and yet we still wheel out so many people with MBAs who are poorly equipped to meet these new challenges).

 

[SeaWolf]

It's not really a strike as such anyway. It's a ban on working overtime, which (like most commercial companies) is probably unpaid anyway. If QF were actually dependent on having them all work overtime to get daily tasks done then it would be an indication that they were understaffed.

 

[medhead]

I'm still of the opinion if you don't like it, change jobs.

Indeed and I did. Really I guess my issues was that I'm a scientist and work in a science field. Trouble with scientists is they do things for the science not the money. That tends to get you some people who are extremely dedicated to achieving all the demands put on them, (I know of an extreme example of these). Yet the employer gives absolutely no recognition to that situation.

Anyway, I'm out there and learning something new. Hopefully certain people, I used to work with, don't work themselves into a hospital (again).
besides none of this is really relevant to QF engineers.

 

[Mal]

It's a common problem in the ISP/Telecommunications world. Companies want to pay peanuts to get gurus, instead of the monkeys they really will get. Gurus therefore are harder to find, and it's often the case the people with knowledge have to settle for a lot less just to keep a job. It sucks, but it's how it works unfortunately.

I think it's a common IT issue. Having looked at many, many roles in the last 9 months over here in London - things are very similar. IT has turned into a commodity, and employers think that they can pay very cheap rates and get quality workers... and sadly they do get workers! As an example I've seen combined 1st/2nd/3rd tier support jobs going for $A30K. That's about a graduate's /entry level IT wage in Australia.

 

[kamchatsky]

I think it's a common IT issue. Having looked at many, many roles in the last 9 months over here in London - things are very similar. IT has turned into a commodity, and employers think that they can pay very cheap rates and get quality workers... and sadly they do get workers! As an example I've seen combined 1st/2nd/3rd tier support jobs going for $A30K. That's about a graduate's /entry level IT wage in Australia.

+1 on this. IT is now a commodity, and at the end IT needs to either constantly learning new IT things, or move into management. I choose the later.

 

[drewbles]

+1 on this. IT is now a commodity, and at the end IT needs to either constantly learning new IT things, or move into management. I choose the later.

Agreed with both of you. It's only a matter of time though before it all comes crashing down and they realise that IT workers are an asset. When they employ monkeys trying to run large-end networks without suitable experience, and things crash to the ground, they'll either learn or go out of business.

I know of several people and businesses about to have this exact problem. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[notzac]

+1 on this. IT is now a commodity, and at the end IT needs to either constantly learning new IT things, or move into management. I choose the later.

..either that, or specialise - which is what I've done. If you only have garden variety IT skills you'll only get garden variety pay.

Thread topic successfully derailed.

 

[Durin's Bane]

Ahh, the "Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA)", another useless organisation sucking peoples money, providing no benefits, and providing no strategy to the rapidly increasing engineering and science brain drains in Oz. Kind of like Engineers Australia.

Don't the unions realise that by striking it brings workers closer to no job at all? And perhaps they need to look into why we have such abysmal productivty in Oz.