On 19 March the ASU met with Qantas in Mascot to get further detail on what they say the future structure at airports may be.
As you were made aware at ASU members meetings and earlier bulletins the company indicated that it was going to review and potentially restructure areas such as the Sales Desk, Service Desk and Baggage Services. At Wednesday’s meeting we were hoping to get more detail about these areas however Qantas has not yet finalised its review.
The company has said that it will have a better indication for us at our next meeting which is scheduled for Monday 24 March, however, they did say that it was not their intention to close or get rid of these areas rather they were reviewing the staffing levels and numbers required for each location.
Expressions of Interest
It is still the company’s intention to close the EOI date on Sunday 23 March 2014 however they have said that if individuals are unable to return their EOI to their HR department or manager on the Sunday then they will accept them first thing Monday morning.
Is my EOI binding?
There has been an update in relation to this, previously you were told that you could withdraw your EOI up until 23 March and that if you didn’t then it became binding on you (not the company) after this date.
It has now been acknowledged that the EOI’s are not binding and the company will go through a separate process post the 23rd of speaking to each individual that has submitted an EOI to ascertain if that individual still wants to put in for a VR, this process is going to start on or around Tuesday 25 March.
If an individual is still interested in taking a VR they will be asked to sign a binding expression of interest that locks you in if the company chooses to let you go. This will still not be binding on Qantas, we would like to remind you that just because you have indicated a preference to leave, Qantas may still say that you are required and not let you go.
Further discussions.
The company has also agreed to meet with the ASU again on the afternoon of Monday 24 March to discuss the number of EOI’s that have been received, give an initial indication of how many people they believe that they may be able to let to go and to provide further detail on what they say their future needs may be in relation to the areas under review. At this meeting we will also have discussions on the time frames for locking individuals into the binding EOI’s.
At this stage the company is suggesting that they want those still interested in expressing an interest in VR to have had their individual meeting and return their binding EOI by Friday 28 March, the ASU has indicated that in our view this will not be enough time and we will be discussing this further at our Monday meeting.
QF want to change mix
Please remember that just because you’ve expressed an interest in going doesn’t mean that you’ll get to go, Qantas has made it very clear that they’d prefer to have a lesser percentage of full time staff compared to the numbers that currently exist.
Future discussions
Any future restructures of individual areas will need to be discussed with the union and we will be holding Qantas to account on any of the decisions that it makes and we will keep members fully informed and involved in all processes.
We are aware that comments have been made by senior management that are not helpful to this overall process and indeed are not factually correct.
Comment 1 – read between the lines, if you put in for a redundancy you’ll get it, we don’t want people here that don’t want to be here.
Fact – this cannot and has not been determined, no one will know the answer to this until the company comes clean about its future structure and needs, we believe that they will in fact not be able to let too many people go without having a detrimental impact on the current service standards.
Comment 2 – EOI’s are binding after 23 March 2013 and you cannot withdraw it.
Fact – EOI’s not binding at all, you’ll still need to agree and sign a further binding EOI if you still want to go.
Comment 3 – we are the managers, we’ll manage the business how we like, it’s not up to the union what we do.
Fact – the company has to consult with the ASU and members about any proposed changes. Many times the ASU has saved the company from itself by stopping them from making silly short sighted decisions where they’ve failed to think through the consequences properly.
Comment 4 –The place is going to be cut to pieces, it won’t be a fun place to work
Fact – It’s an airport, customer service and associated roles will still be required, do you really think they could drastically reduce numbers at Melbourne and still function properly? Maybe this is managements strange way of encouraging people to leave?
