Investors cheer Qantas decision
Chris Zappone
The Age
October 31, 2011
…
Market support
“Clearly this is going to hurt revenue,” said CMC Markets strategist Michael McCarthy. “Overall though I suspect the market generally supports this kind of action.”
“Given the potential for bleeding to death over the next 12 months, it’s better Qantas acts than not.”
Mr McCarthy said the decision by Fair Work Australia to terminate any further strikes “is quite a positive for the company”.
“Qantas has already lost the PR war to some extent so they are already less concerned about (public perceptions of their treatment of the unions).”
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Joyce template?
“Within Australia Mr Joyce’s firm stance is seen as a bellwether for emerging industrial disputes in other sectors,” according to analysis by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, released yesterday.
“Internationally in aviation Mr Joyce has usurped the tough stance former British Airways CEO Willie Walsh took against BA’s Unite Union in 2010,” the report said.
“The developing situation at Qantas will be a case study of extreme action airlines could take in the future, but only if they share Mr Joyce’s conviction the company will prevail,” the group, which advises airlines, said.
“AirAsia co-founder and CEO Tony Fernandes backed Mr Joyce’s move, saying on Twitter, ‘You have to salute Alan Joyce for doing what he’s doing. This is not about workers vs management. It’s about survival in the modern world.'”
[NB. Fernandes’ tweet would appear to have gone down the memory hole.]
I say we sit Mr Joyce in a dark theater, a la Clockwork Orange, and make him watch this till the inevitable onset of madness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9gtUYIhsuo Ah, the Swedes. They’ve always done Bolsheviks and Vikings better.