If the aim of the Transport Workers' Union and cutely-name Airline Pilot's 'Association' has been to damage Australia's reputation and set industrial relations back 20 years, then by all accounts it's 'mission accomplished'.
In a staggering display of self-interest, both pilots and ground staff have demonstrated that they couldn't care less for the economic viability of the national carrier, much less the long-suffering passengers.
The English-language website of Xinhua, China's state-owned media agency, was quick to point out the potential damage to the country's reputation, however it can be argued that this has already occurred. That the mouthpiece of a socialist government is commenting on our industrial relations climate with distaste, is disturbing indeed.
It somehow seems to escape the cognitive abilities of Qantas workers that the airline must compete in a global marketplace where other airlines pay far less to its workers and pilots and have shorter routes to travel in order to fill their aircraft. The comparative size of the pay packets afforded to these staff, especially the pilots, has not prevented them from holding the airline to ransom, and it is unlikely that a union-backed and controlled government will really intervene any time soon.
Welcome back to the 1980's, Australia.
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