Today Qantas has made the extraordinary announcement that they intend to centralise ALL of the resource planning for each airport to Mascot.
They have announced that all Resource Coordinators will be made redundant unless they want to apply for a new position that would be located in Sydney.
Short sighted decision.
In our view this is a completely outrageous and dumb decision, this area has gone through multiple restructures over the recent years and enough is enough.
We say that this short sighted decision can only have a detrimental impact on the operation of the airline overall not to mention the issues that will impact all airport employees both collectively and individually.
Past examples of centralisation have been a disaster!
In the last 20 years can you name an occasion where anything that’s been centralised to Mascot has worked well or benefitted employees? We can’t.
There’s been;
- Workforce Planning / The Hub
- Payroll
- Load Control
- Crewing
- Engineering - and the list goes on!
How will I be impacted?
Well, the short answer is (If you work in resources) as far as the company is concerned you’re expendable, no longer required, the work you do is not needed, redundant!
The ASU however holds you in much higher regard than your employer obviously does and will absolutely be taking Qantas to task over this matter and fighting hard to reverse this stupid decision.
If you don’t work in resources the possible impacts are endless, for example;
- How and when will annual leave be allocated?
- How will you get access to a DIL day?
- How will your flexible work arrangement be impacted?
- How will jobshare be impacted?
- What will happen if you need coverage to attend a meeting with your union, union delegates, OH&S reps etc.
- The potential ramifications of this short sighted knee jerk decision has far reaching implications that the managers responsible for this decision probably don’t even understand.
Resource coordinators keep the day to day operation going.
It’s sometimes easy to take resources for granted but the truth of the matter is that without them, life at work would get a whole lot more difficult.
They;
- Plug the holes that need filling in “real time”.
- Ensure shifts are covered to assist with work load.
- Make sure you get your breaks at an appropriate time.
- Have local processes in place to distribute overtime and additional hours as fairly and equitably as possible in line with our local agreements.
- Roster for safety issues that have been put in place.
- Most importantly, are often responsible for ensuring that aircraft depart on time by ensuring “in real time” that qualified and skilled people are doing the required and necessary roles to deliver on time performance and the safe departure of passengers and aircraft. This is not an easy task when trying to juggle a delay, sick leave, understaffing issues and the like.
It is essential that people with local knowledge, that know the work areas, that know the employees, that know each individuals skill set is located in the port locally to ensure that all of the above (and much much more) happens effectively, efficiently, safely and fairly.
Was the ASU consulted?
NO, the company has not spoken to the ASU at all. At 1.30pm on 3 August Qantas sent us an email with a letter attached briefly outlining their plan. This was sent to the ASU at the same time that employees were being advised about the decision.
What next?
The ASU has demanded a meeting with senior managers responsible for this crazy decision and we will hold them to account.
It is important that everyone stick together and ensure that Qantas hears your outrage.
If you want more information contact your local ASU local organiser. Download the full bulletin below for contact details.
Qantas Bulletin 4 August 2017