QANTAS chief Alan Joyce today told an antagonistic Senate committee hearing the claim he decided to ground the airline well before Saturday morning was one of several conspiracy theories surrounding the action.
And Mr Joyce made clear the decision to lock out staff, and ground the airline’s fleet in advance, was his alone, and was made Saturday morning.
“I brought it to a head and I do apologise to the 90,000 customers affected,” he said of the dramatic showdown in the workplace dispute.
“But I had to bring it to a head.”
Mr Joyce accepted there had been a “big mistake” made by selling Qantas tickets after the decision to halt flights. It was not until 8pm Saturday night that executives realised that the Qantas web site was still operating.
But he rejected claims that the airline had long planned the shut-down and had prepared for it days in advance, apart from general planning for a lock-out “looking ahead”.
“There’s a lot of conspiracy theories about a lot of factors around this,” Mr Joyce told the Senate committee on transport legislation at a hearing scheduled well before he grounded the airline.
But Greens Leader Bob Brown acused Mr Joyce of being “very obscure and devious’’ for not mentioning the grounding plan to the Government before Saturday.
Mr Joyce agreed Qantas had booked hotel rooms in Los Angeles, Singapore and other destinations on the weekend, but no more than normal. There were 2000 bookings made, but after the grounding.
“My public relations department, which you’d think I would have wanted to be in Sydney when all of this took place…three of them were at the races in Melbourne on the day of this,” he said.
“They got trapped in Melbourne, had to buy Virgin tickets to get back. That was woeful planning if we’d…”
He was then interrupted by Labor Senator Doug Cameron who said: “It could be called an alibi.”
“Come on senator,” replied Mr Joyce, laughing. “I categorically say I made the decision on Saturday.”
Qantas would have kept the airline grounded if Fair Work Australia had suspended rather than terminated industrial action, the committee was told by Transport Workers’ Union secretary Tony Sheldon immediately after Mr Joyce finished his evidence.
Mr Sheldon said the airline had made it clear “we will not put planes back in the air’’ if it didn’t get the decision it wanted.
“It was a direct attack, a strangling of the Australian economy,’’ he said.
Mr Sheldon also challenged what he said was the Qantas claim that “there was a major disaster afoot, financially, organisationally and structurally’’ with the airline.
He told the committee that revenue was up eight per cent and profits before tax were up 46 per cent.
Mr Sheldon said it would cost Qantas an extra five cents a ticket between Melbourne and Sydney to pay for greater job security and end out-sourcing of work.
“Qantas will only die if Alan Joyce and (chairman) Lee Clifford kills it,’’ said Mr Sheldon.
Mr Joyce was appearing to testify on legislation which would limit Qantas’ plans to create Jetstar Japan next year and help start a premium Asian airline to snare the growing Chinese market.
He told the committee the proposed law was protectionism, but that if the new airlines did not go ahead, Australian jobs would be lost.
Mr Joyce said the legislation, presented by Greens leader Bob Brown and independent Senator Nick Xenophon, would contravene the Qantas Act, and would impose restrictions which did not apply to any other Australian company.
Qantas also believes it would help competing airlines take a bigger share of the Asian market.
“The Bill being proposed would not do more to protect Australia’s Qantas,” said Mr Joyce.
“It would not protect Australian jobs and it would have the opposite effect.”
He said some wanted Qantas to go within Australia’s borders.
“This is protectionism,” he said.
“If you want to survive and succeed we must be free to pursue global opportunities.”
But he added: “I can assure you that Qantas proudly calls Australia home and we will always do so.
“The vast majority of our operations are here and always will stay here.”
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