TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, RADIO 6PR, PERTH 24
NOVEMBER 1989
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Does this hit at the right to strike, this
decision? PM: No, and I haven't had the chance of reading the
total transcript of the Judge's decision but I've seen some
reference where he refers to the right to strike as
fundamental. Well, get this in perspective that the trade
union movement has operated in this country for the last six
years now under the Accord. They've been able to negotiate
wage increases within that system and this sort of situation
has arisen because the pilots deliberately decided against
the pleas which I made to them and others made to them
including Kelty and Crean don't go outside the system,
here is a system within which there is a means for handling
disputes, including where there is a withdrawal of labour.
Here is a system the Conciliation and Arbitration system,
within that you can hand in your claims, advance your
claims, there can be withdrawal of labour. But they said
no, we're going to withdraw from the protective apparatus
which exists within that system and go out into the American
style straight bargaining system, use our muscle, go for
percent. Now I pleaded with them and I said look that's
silly. Don't do that. Stay within the system because if
you go outside the system then you get exposed to all the
dangers of that. I get no satisifaction at all and I deeply
regret that the Federation of Air Pilots didn't accept the
advice that was given, not just by me, but by the trade
union movement and by the airlines to process their claims
within the system. If they'd done that, they could have got
significant salary increases, they would have had the
opportunity of arguing, within the system, for how their
conditions should be adjusted to the demands of a changing
industry. They could have done all that, but they said at
the beginning of the year and it's in writing they were
going to enter into a battle with their employers. They
said this we're going into a battle with. the employers,
with the Government and with the arbitration system. We're
AAI & Am6A
going to take them all on outside the system. Now, it was a
silly decision and I regret that they have done it. I
repeat, as I've been saying now for weeks and weeks, there
is the possibility of a place for them if they do what the
Commission has said. The Commission has said you accept
these conditions, not special for the pilots but it applies
to everyone else. That is you withdraw your embargo on your
members being employed by the airlines, I mean, they're not
employed well then where are you? Secondly that you accept
the decisions of the Commission. Thirdly you accept the
National Wage Case guidelines. They said if you do those
things which is not special to you, but it applies to every
other organisation of workers, then you can apply to be
bound by the award which is now the contract and if you then
become bound by the award, you can then lodge an application
to argue about that contract, as to whether it should be
changed. So the pilots have, in the first place, chosen to
say no, damn the system. We're going out into that
big rough world on our own. OK. We wanted them not to.
Now the position is that they have a method of seeking to
get back into it which the Commission has given to them.
It's up to them, but they seem not to have accepted the well
intended advice of myself, of the trade union movement, of
everyone else. They haven't accepted that advice for so
long now I don't know whether they will at this point.
JOURNALIST: What would you say to Brian McCarthy
PM: I've said it all.
JOURNALIST: What did you think of yesterday's decision,
damages decision?
PM: Well, it unfortunately is the inevitable result. once
you've made, as the leadership of the Federation did see,
they are supposedly and I don't mean that derogatively,
they're not just supposedly they are people of
intelligence. They deliberately made a choice. There is a
system there, industrial relations system in which provided
for a method for everyone to process claims for increased
wages. There is that system or they could go out into the
/ LJJJ ommonwarcsystem. So when you ask me what do I think about
it, all can say is, as a result of their decision to go
out of the system where they had the protection, where they
could argue and they could even withdraw their labour and so
on and they said no we're out of that. I can't have an
opinion about that other than the one I've expressed.
JOURNALIST: So it serves them right.
PM: That's your words and you could read the whole of my
transcript and you wouldn't read anything out of that.
JOURNALIST: I'm asking do you think it serves them right?
PM: No, I don't want to express that view. I mean, my view
is in what I've already said and that is that I deeply
wished that they'd stay within the system. I mean,
everything on the record shows that Hawke, the conciliator,
the person who's built his whole life, whole public life on
trying to get conciliation, consensus, negotiation, that was
why I pleaded stay in the system. So, I don't talk about
serving them right or anything like that. I am deeply hurt
that this situation has arisen. It's not the Hawke style.
The Hawke style is negotiation, discussion, argument if you
like, but argument within a framework which provides for a
peaceful resolution of disputes. That's the whole of my
life and that's why I pleaded with them not to go this path.
So that's why I get no glee, no satisfaction, no pleasure
out of that decision. The only satisfaction, the only
satisfaction Hawke gets out of it is that having had the
issues exposed before an independent judicial authority,
that judicial authority has repudiated the AFAP's monstrous
misrepresentation that there was a conspiracy between Hawke
and the airlines that's what they've been saying. The
Judge has said that's a nonsense and those that were
spoiling for a fight were the Federation. That's the only
satisfaction I get, that after having all that aired, the
evidence given, the Judge has said no conspiracy, as there
never has been on my part because I wanted them to stay in
the system and that they were the ones spoiling for a fight.
I get satisfaction out of having that established, out of
nothing else.
ends