Toll Dnata, an airlines company owned by Emirates and Toll Holdings, is seeking to exploit Labor's transitional IR laws to cut the pay and allowances of customer service and check-in staff at Melbourne's international airport by at least $5,000 a year.

The debate on climate change has a lot of jargon and issues that can be hard to understand. As the aviation industry is always discussed in climate change debates, the ASU's National Airlines Division Council has made education of ASU members on this issue a priority.

This is the first in a series of bulletins to explain climate change and the effects on aviation to our members. Click here for more information.

ASU reps met with Qantas Group General Managers for People from most Qantas business segments on Friday 1st August 2008 to try and get a handle on the ASU areas that are being targeted for redundancies as a result of the recent announcement.

Qantas will slash 1500 jobs worldwide as Australia's largest airline seeks to combat rising oil prices and challenging market conditions, chief executive Geoff Dixon said on Friday.

The decision by Qantas to shed 1500 jobs in Australia and overseas is disappointing and unions will seek to work with the airline to minimise compulsory redundancies for the workforce.

When the Labor government was elected on the 24th November last year, unionists were excited at the introduction of a new industrial relations system that would be fair, just and restore collective employment rights. It was expected that AWAs would be phased out and EBAs would become the principle employment instrument. Unfortunately the use of Interim Transitional Employment Agreements (ITEAS) is undermining this progression.

ASU members working for Qantas at SIT have successfully overturned the proposal for a new annual leave system that would restrict bidding for holidays to 2,3 or 5 weeks leave, and would prevent staff bidding for 1 week of leave.

The ACTU is urging Qantas management to return to the negotiating table to resolve the engineer's dispute.