CBD
The never-ending stoush between the titanic Australian Workers Union, headed by the best-known faceless man around, Paul Howes, and miniature guild the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, run by professional thorn in the side Steve Purvinas, is on again.
The two are locked in a vigorous demarcation dispute over coverage of aircraft engineers at Qantas and the AWU is upset that the ALEA (aka the Lamies) has objected to its new deal with the airline.
But something, or someone, was missing from the latest AWU blast: national secretary Howes.
Instead, the ritual fulmination was executed by acting national secretary Scott McDine.
Conspiracy theorists will no doubt note that Howes is stepping out with chief Qantas spin doctor (and former Joe Hockey staffer) Olivia Wirth.
However, AWU spokesman Nick Lucchinelli said the tribune of the people was on holidays overseas. Howes must really be relaxing: he hasn't tweeted since June 26 and didn't pop up during the ALP's recent ousting of PM Julia Gillard.
Purvinas was easier to reach on the blower and he hit back at AWU claims the ALEA refused to participate in 40 meetings held to reach the Qantas deal.
"We didn't participate in the meetings because they shut us out as they negotiated licensed aircraft engineers into the agreement covering unlicensed aircraft engineers," he told CBD.
"I expect Qantas to start paying licensed engineers $50,000 less a year on average and start paying them under the unlicensed engineers agreement."
Told that McDine had described the ALEA as "spoilers, suffering from relevance deprivation syndrome", Purvinas said: "It seems that Scott McDine has found some employment for [Gillard flack] John McTernan, and that's who's writing his press releases."
Not so, said Lucchinelli: "It wasn't written by John McTernan."
Avast, ye lubbers
Sailors are mopping the blood from the decks and caulking the hull after the cessation of boardroom hostilities at Buccaneer Energy. And as the smoke cleared and surgeons sawed off the legs of the wounded after a meeting of shareholders on Tuesday, it became clear the battle was something of a draw.
The Cheng family, the insurgent Singapore-based investor that owns more than 8 per cent of the company - with the support of new 20 per cent shareholder Meridian Capital - succeeded in sweeping chairman Alan Broome and non-executive director Frank Culberson from the board.
Cheng nominees Nick Davies, Shaun Scott and Clinton Adams were appointed.
However, Chief executive Curtis Burton and finance director Dean Gallegos kept their seats on the board.
Lawyer Brian Moller was also appointed to the board, giving each side three apiece.
A tie-breaker might come from Meridian, which has yet to exercise its right to appoint a director.
All sweet again
CBD loves it when corporate types say what they really think and for a brief moment last week that was what customers of Melbourne's Yarra Valley Water got to experience.
Callers to the company's emergency help line were told that they might be cut off during the call and this was Telstra's fault.
Perhaps not what you want to hear when struggling with a backed-up dunny spewing sewage all over the house, but at least honest.
Sadly, after an inquiry from CBD the company, er, went to water.
"There was no intention to blame the service provider," a spokeswoman told CBD. "However, we have altered the message to remove any confusion on this issue."
And a Telstra spinner insisted everything was copacetic.
"There was an issue out there that our techs were able to resolve quickly - our customer's happy, the system is humming so we're happy," he said.
Got a tip?
bbutler@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The article describes a demarcation dispute between the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALEA) over coverage of aircraft engineers at Qantas. ALEA objected to the AWU's new deal with Qantas, claiming it was shut out of meetings and that licensed engineers were being folded into an agreement for unlicensed engineers. For investors, this kind of labour dispute can affect industrial relations, crew morale and potentially labour costs or service arrangements at an airline, so it's worth watching company announcements and negotiation outcomes.
Key figures mentioned are AWU national secretary Paul Howes (reported absent/overseas), acting AWU national secretary Scott McDine (who publicly criticised ALEA), and ALEA leader Steve Purvinas (who pushed back on AWU claims). AWU spokesman Nick Lucchinelli also commented, denying a specific press-release authorship claim. The article frames these individuals as the principal spokespeople in the dispute.
According to the article, Paul Howes — the AWU national secretary — was overseas on holiday and did not make public comments. Acting national secretary Scott McDine carried out the AWU's public statements in Howes's absence. The piece also notes Howes had not tweeted since June 26 and was not present during recent political events mentioned.
ALEA's Steve Purvinas told CBD that ALEA did not participate in about 40 meetings because it was shut out while AWU negotiated licensed aircraft engineers into an agreement covering unlicensed engineers. Purvinas said he expects Qantas to start paying licensed engineers about $50,000 less a year on average if they are placed under the unlicensed engineers' agreement — a claim presented as ALEA's expectation in the article.
The article reports Scott McDine described ALEA as 'spoilers, suffering from relevance deprivation syndrome.' Steve Purvinas responded by accusing McDine of using a press release written by a political operator (naming John McTernan), which AWU spokesman Nick Lucchinelli denied. The exchange highlights the public sparring between the unions over the dispute.
Shareholders at Buccaneer Energy removed chairman Alan Broome and non‑executive director Frank Culberson after a contest led by the Cheng family (an insurgent Singapore‑based investor with more than 8% ownership) and supported by new 20% shareholder Meridian Capital. Cheng nominees Nick Davies, Shaun Scott and Clinton Adams were appointed. CEO Curtis Burton and finance director Dean Gallegos remained on the board, and lawyer Brian Moller was also appointed, leaving the board split three‑three. Meridian still has the right to appoint a director, which could act as a tie‑breaker.
Customers calling Yarra Valley Water's emergency help line were initially told they might be cut off and that Telstra was at fault. After CBD queried the company, Yarra Valley Water altered the message to remove any implication of blaming the service provider and said there was no intention to blame Telstra. Telstra said technicians resolved an issue quickly and that the system was working and the customer was satisfied.
The article highlights three types of developments investors may want to track: labour disputes (AWU vs ALEA at Qantas) that can affect costs and operations; boardroom contests (Buccaneer Energy) that can change strategy and governance; and operational or service communications (Yarra Valley Water/Telstra) that can impact reputation. Investors should follow company announcements, shareholder meeting outcomes and verified statements from the organisations involved to assess potential impacts on operations, governance and value.
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