More than 68,000 Qantas passengers (13,000 overseas) stranded is sufficient to make it to a national crisis as a result of a drastic executive decision to ground the entire fleet.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce must be living on another planet and time thinking that he could get away with firstly outsourcing work internationally to save costs (when Qantas was still profitable and competitive) and the latest lockout workers taking industrial action.
Extremest actions may fly in developing countries where workers desperate for work and not having sufficient bargaining power would accept lower pay and long hours, where the government could justify making sacrifices for a better future.
Not in advanced nations and certainly not against the backdrop of GFC as corporate chiefs are being cast in unfavourable light of excessive greed and dishonesty.
Qantas boss(es) must know by now that threats have only served to escalate tensions and diminish their influence. There is no question that the incompetent executives and the entire board that were responsible for the crisis must step down to save the day.
Why hadn't the government which is after all a "Labor" party acted earlier using all it could muster from the Fair Work Act? Keeping mum and playing footsie and pandering to corporate interests while trying to give tacit support to workers has only prolonged and exacerbated the quagmire.
Even if FairWork were to order a suspension of the strikes, it would not be sufficient to bring the airline back on the air unless Qantas makes compromises as well. For the sake of national above personal interests, the negotiators must look beyond tactical gains.
The opposition while trying to paint the government in the bad light and waiting for mistakes it could exploit, has nonetheless urged the Gillard cabinet to make a strong stand to end the malaise.
For a national icon which had a good track record, this disastrous episode will mark the point of no return. Apart from the tremendous finnancial losses which has exceed AUD 50 million now, the long-term repercussions of a tarnished reputation would be much more damaging than anyone could envisage.
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