The Qantas pilots AIPA quite rightly are aggrieved by Fair Work Australia’s decision to terminate, rather than suspend, their industrial action.
The AIPA has applied to the Federal Court in a legal challenge – while negotiations continue.
Pilots wearing red ties and mentioning politely to their passengers their concern for job security in line with billboard ads and to gain customer support should not have been ordered to cease.
The FWA order is manifestly unfair denying the right of Pilots to take such action. It disproportionally favours Qantas to win its position.
In Left Focus and on this blog I argued here that on merit the FWA could have suspended the unions’ protected action, and terminated the lock-out while negotiations continued.
http://leftfocus.blogspot.com/2011/11/chris-white-on-qantas-employer-lockouts
The union will argue to Federal Court judges that FWA had no jurisdiction to terminate its industrial action.
The AIPA seeks a writ of certiorari so the Federal court overrules the FWA’s decision and a writ of mandamus so the case is reheard.
If equity applies – and it should if the notion of ‘fairness’ has any meaning – the union has a good argument.
http://www.aipa.org.au/
The AIPA says issues “need to be clarified in order to ensure that a precedent is not set which may give an employer the impression that it can conduct itself in a similar manner to Qantas to bring about a calculated result which deprives its workforce of any rights during the bargaining process.”
What judicial politics prevails in the outcome will be interesting.
The FWA -keeping WorkChoices’ provisions against the right to strike – ought not in any fair consideration of limited legal industrial action by employees allow powerful corporations to lock out and defeat this right to strike.
If the judges rule Qantas can, then Parliament should amend the FWA by removing the right of the employer to lock out.
The pilots may have succeeded by now by earlier organising and winning a stronger lawful strike against Qantas.
See also strike Philippines Airlines
http://aawl.org.au/content/philippines-airlines-second-month-strike
The job security issues are important for all of the workforce to gain in this uncertain world capitalist crisis.
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