As Qantas planes dramatically took back to the skies last week, I was left quite perplexed by the company’s action in grounding all its flights both within Australia and around the world. By inconveniencing passengers in such a major way, Qantas has lost a good deal of support from the public. Angry passengers – or non-passengers – took to the airways (the broadcast kind of course, not literally, obviously) and twitter to vent their frustration. What was to be gained by Qantas? As anyone who has spent a reasonable amount of time living/working in Australia knows, Qantas doesn’t really have a maintenance or safety issue, it has a long-standing industrial relations issue. The unions in this case have possibly stolen the moral high ground from the airline in its fight to keep maintenance in Australia, rather than outsource the function to Asia. After all, it was not they, but the airline who ruined everyone’s holidays, business trips or important family functions
During the recent BA disputes in the UK, it was usually the unions who were the losers in the court of public opinion, as it was they, not the airlines who were the ‘baddies’ spoiling everyone’s trips. Similarly in London. disputes this year on the London Underground have made ‘pantomime villains’ out of Bob Crow and co., not TfL despite their seeming scant regard to the public’s comfort/wellbeing on their overcrowded and overheated trains. Hands up who wants unmanned ticket offices? Not too many takers, yet this is on the cards also. Still, because of the inconvenience of the strikes, the unions who oppose these measures are the bad guys.
Does it matter who are the winners and losers in the court of public opinion? Ultimately, not necessarily, as things have to happen sometimes whether they are popular or not. However, getting the ‘court’ on-side can reap benefits and make the transition of the new, sometimes unpopular change smoother and easier. It can be very time-consuming fighting communications’ battles; time which could be better spent implementing the necessary changes.
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