FOR MEDIA 25 MAY 1989
-AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER,
THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS
AND THE MINISTER FOR INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
The Government will no longer tolerate the continuing
campaign of industrial disruption and abuse of sick leave
entitlements by Air Traffic Controllers at Sydney Airport
and other airports.
If this disruption continues the Civil Aviation Authority
( CAA) will immediately process the provisions already in the
award which allow for individual fines and/ or stand-downs.
Further, to ensure our capacity finally to resolve this
unacceptable behaviour we have commissioned Mr George
Polites, Mr Peter Newman and Mr Bernie Frawley* to provide
us with an immediate report on other action available to the
Government to put an end to the disruption at these
airports. Following receipt of the report, the Government will, in
consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority ( CAA), take
whatever steps are necessary to give the travelling public
the best service Sydney Airport is capable of providing.
The Government's decision follows a series of attempts to
end the disruption co-operatively. These include:
agreement to process the Air Traffic Controllers' award
restructuring as a special case, providing early access
to wage increases;
agreement to provide, earlier than planned, equipment to
overhaul the Sydney and Melbourne air traffic control
system; acceptance in principle of the need for increased
staffing, a position which will be firmed up once a
report is received from the CAA on specific needs,, due
shortly.
The Government and the CAA have attempted to negotiate with
the Air Traffic Controllers and their union in good faith
and with considerable patience. It appears that some
controllers are not prepared to follow their union's advice
nor do they appear to care about the welfare of
passengers, or the economic health of tourism or the
aviation industry in this country.
Let there be no mistake the disruption at Sydney Airport
is caused principally by the attempts of a group of
self-interested individuals seeking to use their position in
the industry to obtain very large wage rises outside
industrial relations guidelines and the wage-setting
principles which have been agreed with the ACTU.
Mr George Polites is former Executive Director of the
Confederation of Australian Industry and is currently a
member of the Board of Australian Airlines; Mr Peter
Newman is Consultant to the Minister for Transport and
Communications; Mr Bernie Frawley is a First Assistant
Secretary in the Department of Industrial Relations.