There has been a lot of news about buying back national carriers that were once sold off because things were not looking good and business wasn’t coming in. this for a more than one reason but this isn’t the same with Qantas. A powerful trade union wants the government to buy back Qantas for $9 billion so passengers aren’t ripped off, accusing bosses of ‘pocketing billions’ in taxpayer subsidies. The Transport Workers Union is circulating a petition calling on the federal government to nationalize the carrier in the interests of protecting jobs.
They stated that ‘Qantas is one of our best known and loved national icons, it needs protection from a dictatorship-style management that is pocketing billions in public subsidies and hurting our economy by sacking and stealing from workers.’
Michael Kaine the Unions National Secretary went on to state that ‘What the Australian public is facing is its own funding being used against it, as Qantas strives for a near monopoly situation. This will result in higher air fares and less choice, as a monopoly would allow Qantas to kill off regional routes which are less lucrative.’
Qantas hit back at the Union, pointing out it was on track to lose $16 billion by June 30 since the start of the Covid pandemic, adding the two-year pay freeze had also applied to management. Qantas has a dedicated myth busting page on our website to deal with the litany of false and misleading claims from the TWU. The airline last year also retrenched 8,500 staff and has received $2 billion in support from taxpayers, mainly through the JobKeeper wage subsidies.
