The Australian Services Union will lobby Federal Parliament today, meeting with politicians and warning of the damage changes to the Qantas Sale Act will have on Qantas workers and their communities.
The Union will be accompanied by Qantas workers and ASU delegates.
ASU Assistant National Secretary Linda White said that the Qantas Sale Act currently protects Australian jobs by requiring that Qantas Head Quarters be based in Australia.
"The Qantas Sale Act requires certain functions to be performed in Australia. This includes thousands of skilled, safety sensitive jobs that would be in jeopardy if the Government changes the Qantas Sale Act," Ms White said.
"We are here today to warn of the risks of amending the Qantas Sale Act. Prime Minister Tony Abbott doesn't seem to comprehend the damage this will do to our local economy and the reputation of our national airline.
"Any changes to the Sale Act will lead to mass off-shoring of white collar jobs. We know that once jobs are off-shored they never come back. At a time when Australia is facing the highest unemployment figures in more than a decade, the Government should be acting to keep jobs on our shores rather than making it easier for Qantas to send these high skilled aviation jobs off-shore.
"There is no doubt that changes to the Qantas Sale Act will put Australian jobs at risk," Ms White said.
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Delegates and workers from Qantas will be participating in the lobbying trip and meeting with politicians. The workers have come from every state and territory, and from different areas in the Qantas Group.
For further comment please call Carla Drakeford on 0432 828 004
ASU officials attending lobbying in Canberra:
- Linda White – ASU Assistant National Secretary
- Ingrid Stitt – Secretary ASU Victorian Private Sector Branch
- Sally McManus – Secretary ASU NSW & ACT Services Branch
- Julie Bignell – Secretary ASU Central & Southern Qld Branch
- Joseph Scales – Secretary ASU SA & NT Branch
- Jennifer Greeney – Organiser ASU WA Branch
For further comment, please contact: Carla Drakeford on 0432 828 004