Yesterday dnata sent out an all staff memo advising you that they have started a new company called Airport Handling Services Australia (AHSA) and they are going to use that company to get airport ground handling work.
But of course they haven’t told you the whole story...
What dnata didn’t tell you
- They only told you about this company now because the ASU found out about the new company and the proposed agreement and confronted them about this last week
- dnata registered AHSA on 18/11/2016
- The “new” agreement for AHSA staff has lower pay and conditions
- Only 2 people are employed by AHSA and only 2 people voted to approve the AHSA proposed agreement
- Another company called Aviation Ground Resources Pty Ltd put paperwork into the Fair Work Commission for an identical agreement 5 days after dnata lodged the AHSA agreement
- Aviation Ground Resources Pty Ltd is a company operated by aviation labour hire company Altara
To say dnata has been caught red handed is an understatement.
We are looking at how we can stop approval of the AHSA and Aviation Ground Resources agreements. We have our lawyer working on this.
To be clear, everyone wants dnata to succeed and be profitable but creating a new company with lower conditions in the dead of night without consulting staff is not the way to sort our issues.
Yesterday the ASU and TWU officials met dnata management (while they were issuing their memo). We did not get explanations about their actions but we have demanded that an urgent national ASU/TWU delegates meeting be convened for Ramp and Cargo and Passenger Services delegates in the next 2 weeks to get an explanation.
We are awaiting the company’s response.
Now is the time to stick together
The company’s actions are deplorable but the good news is we found out what they are doing and our unity and organisation on the ground will be what sees us through. There is strength in the union and all the consultants and tricky company legal strategies cannot beat us when we are unified.
We cannot and will not be intimidated by this hostile act.
You deserve to be angry about this move and we urge you to tell the company how you feel when they do their briefing next week. Rest assured had your union not found out about this move, you would not be having briefings and the company would have snuck an inferior agreement through without your knowledge.
We will keep you advised about our delegates’ meetings and will also in the near future hold members’ meetings to discuss our strategies.
More information
For more information, please get in touch with the relevant local organiser: (download the full bulletin for details)
dnata bulletin - 2 March 2017