Terrible! These baggage handlers (allegedly subcontractors from Swissport) have reportedly been temporarily stood down pending further investigations. They need to be tossed out themselves I reckon.
What do you think?
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce will again probably say it's the travellers' fault this has happened!
The workers have been sacked! ABC News
Credit to @Morphio25 for the update.
The real issue here is who the hell is supposed to be supervising them? They obviously felt they could get away with the piss poor behaviour. We know a lot of people are not raised right to respect others and their property, and thus need monitoring. Sadly all airlines are now in a race to the bottom, I am really thinking I will not be doing the air travel I used to do before C19.
We know a lot of people are not raised right to respect others and their property
Amen to that. People need licences to drive a car, but somehow we don't make a law for people to have a licence to breed.
I would argue these days, the people who are abstaining from having kids should be the ones actually having kids, and the ones having kids willy nilly should be banned from having them.
If society did away with Family Tax Benefit A + B, free child care, free education and so on these people wouldn't be breeding. Eliminate the financial incentives. There are too many people in the world.
I think if that happened it’s likely the only people who would have children are the rich and wealthy, and that wouldn’t be good for society. IMO inequality is already growing rapidly in society and making those changes would divide people even more.
Maybe they should give tax breaks to people who choose not to have children. People who are choosing to not have kids should be admired and respected, lots of people feel that having children is a right and not a privilege.
Very radical, but I often hear people with good salary, saying they don't want kids ( selfish ) or only one because of costs. I can immagine with all the benefits, if someone is below a certain threshold, the more kids the better financially they are, of course not giving their kids any chance to earn a higher salary, why would they? they follow their parents footstep: More kids
Extremely radical school of thought this is, that increasing welfare for single moms, for example, would incentivise more single moms having more children from different dads to maximise their welfare benefits and perpetuate that vicious cycle for future generations.
Normally it's news.com that steals all their stories from reddit. This story/video was all over reddit yesterday and now C9 has stolen it.
About 25 years ago, I packed 2 precious bottles of wine in my check-in luggage. Needless to say, wrapped, boxed, rewrapped with lots of soft clothing all around, and bag purposely light but full to make it easy. I flew to Sydney via a few stop overs (so baggage unloaded each time) then Qantarse from Singapore. I watched my bag come up onto the carousel dripping wine out of the sides. They were Qantas staff, but no recourse for me. 'Maritime regulations' they said. Nothing changes. The only really serious query here is 'who the hell is supposed to be supervising them?' They MUST be on minimum wage at least now, but increasing their wage won't change this behaviour one iota. Supervision will, even if irregular, and should be mandatory. If I left the petty cash tin lying around, and someone stole some of it, I would say I'm as much to blame as they are.
Baggage handlers went on strike in the '90's (?) when management wanted to put cameras in the baggage room to decrease damage and pilfering. The handlers won. Hopefully it's not the 'case' now. But that was the last straw for me and QIA. I avoid it like the plague it is.
i bet these slum handling happens a lot more than you would imagine behind the scene. it may just that they never get caught or the company itself keep it so tight close lid so no gold fingers can report it public
Back in the 90's I used to buy the supposedly almost unbreakable hard shell luggage, I think most airlines (especially American ones) took "unbreakable" as a personal challenge. I now always buy soft shell cases and never pack anything breakable, luggage handlers are cheap non skilled labour and a lot of them just don't give a shit or decide to take out their personal frustrations on your luggage.,
Another lousy act by Alan Joyce to crucify workers, and this is what results. Some background to his illegal decision:-
“Earlier this year Qantas was found to have breached the Fair Work Act in outsourcing its ground operations such as baggage handling to avoid enterprise bargaining rights.
Its controversial decision involved outsourcing more than 1600 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline was granted special leave to appeal two rulings by the Federal Court, which found the outsourcing of baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff was illegal.
Qantas was found to have breached the Fair Work Act in outsourcing its ground operations to avoid enterprise bargaining rights.”
Hardly. This sort of behaviour has been common for decades.
Breaking news up next. Postal workers throw packages. Stay tuned for more breaking new…
When I was unemployed in 2020 I applied for a position as a baggage handler with the same company and did not get accepted. This was in a time when everyone was complaining about not having enough workers due to COVID and I still couldn't find even the most low-skilled, menial job that even a chimp could do. Somehow these bozos got the job though. I guess it was a blessing in disguise however since I now have a job that pays more than this would have.
My heart goes out to you. I'm glad you've found gainful employment since then.
We don't live in a meritocracy. Maybe those guys knew the hiring manager, maybe they're immigrants from overseas who can be exploited at lower pay.
The best person for the job doesn't always get the job, that's Straya for you.
Why would you pack breakables in your check-in luggage?
You think other country's luggage workers are not like this?
Look up videos showing how they do it in Japan
Why would you pack breakables in your check-in luggage?
Because people don't expect mentally unstable maniacs to be handling their luggage.
You think other country's luggage workers are not like this?
Absolutely irrelevant, and even if true that doesn't make this atrocious behaviour acceptable.
Because people don't expect mentally unstable maniacs to be handling their luggage.
That's just naivety. What type of personality would you expect to do it for a career?
that doesn't make this atrocious behaviour acceptable.
Perhaps— but I never said it was.
I mean, heaps of videos online mishandling bags at airports, this isn't anything new…..
The new part is that the employers decided to actually take drastic action, no wonder it got media attention.
If it wasn't for that, it's just anothee video
Work is work, it's easy to say someone doing unskilled work is deserving of less pay but at the other end of the Qantas spectrum is Alan Joyce who has what kind of track record getting paid a huge amount for it? Maybe he's more 'skilled' but he's just (profanity) as many people in his company as he can and taking biggest bonuses he can.
I suspect parcels via AusPost are handled similarly.
I had a PC delivered by StarTrack. I went out to greet the driver and saw him physically throwing other PCs in his van to find mine. When i unboxed mine i noticed all the clips holding the front fascia were broken and had to send it back for a replacement. I can only imagine how much damage was done by this fool throwing equipment around…
I suspect they are imagining it's luggage owned by Alan Joyce.
It all makes sense now.
Thanks, time to wrap up the thread.
Classic modern capitalism.
Outsource. Outsource. Outsource.
Drive renegotations into the pavement year on year.
Quality declines : Shocked pikachu
Labor / wage theft rort from the subbie : Shocked pikachu
Illegal workers/visa scam uncovered at the subbe : Shocked Pikachu.
Qantas : Well, it's not our fault, because we never asked any questions.
Repeat ad nauseum for the farming industry, mining industry, hospitality industry….
Straya!!!!
They were resigning anyway. They had to increase their effort slamming bags, some of which fell behind the conveyor and had to be picked up again
Well if travellers aren’t willing to pay higher airfares, then airlines will only hire the worst people for the job at the lowest pay rate.
I’m fairly certain people’s livelihoods are more important than some traveller’s damaged luggage.
Qantas have in fact raised their prices recently and the only people getting pay rises are the Qantas executives.
Pretty sure even if you paid $10k for your single economy seat, Qantas would still pay the same and keep the profits.
What do you expect from these blue collar gorillas. It is surprising they are working on not just on smokos
Wasn't it just last week they were talking about reducing the flight crew down to a single pilot , cause you don't really need two most of the time and the autopilot does a lot of the work anyway ?
They have, over the last 20 years , turned domestic pilot's into glorified Bus drivers,
just like in the US where many pilots are on food stamps or are working a second job .
No F's given by passengers until plane goes nose down.
And
Aren't they're still looking for that Maylasia Flight ?
Billion dollar industry training pilots. I remember in 90s they made a big deal when Ansett hired a ex raaf pilot, still had to spend a few years "training". despite flying cargo planes.
Wow, I never knew Kim Jong Un had a part time job as a baggage handler for Qantas.
Shhhh don't complain, or they'll give Alan Joyce another payrise.
What do 'people expect'? you think in places like Bali, England, USA etc they care anymore?
these are ppl on min wage (or just above) they don't care about you're $500 suitcase
There were actually working more than required. (Remember Work = Force x distance). By lifting the bag higher than required the guy was doing more work. :)
Joke aside, these idiots should be sacked. The could cause irreversible damage if there’d be a delicate valuable in the bag being pile-driven.
Maybe I'm being skeptical but I've always assumed that's what happened to our luggages so I try to pack and pad anything valuable in my check-in luggage accordingly.
They'll just move on to spitting in your Maccers burger or similar
Bad behaviour, they should be sacked, along with Alan Joyce.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce will again probably say it's the travellers' fault this has happened!
That guy an evil grub. He forced everyone to get the useless jab when it wasn't even mandatory, which healthy athletes and others have been dropping dead from with heart failure. He's nothing more than a standover man blackmailing people (risk health complications, even death, or lose your job or get no flight). I'll never fly Qantas by choice again (sometimes you get put onto a different brand plane without pre-notice) - I'll pay hundred$ more if necessary to go with anyone else or any other method. With government still pushing their foolish pseudoscience, even after Pfiezer's public admission it was all hyped-up horseshit, it's not worth the risk of the pilot falling on the yoke from heart failure while the co-pilot is in the toilet.
chef_kiss.gif
All for them are like this. F$%kers
Deliberately slammed and laugh as they went as well. Insane
Swissport is owned by Hainan Airlines which is in turn owned by Xi Jinping.
Comrade Albo feels very good about that!
Meanwhile in Japan, ground crew wipe our luggage on arrival.
they do it for covid probably not because of better luggage handling….
no this was pre-covid as well, saw it in person, they even have a dedicated person at the luggage belt area to prevent luggage drop hard in the drop zone.
The reason the man in the video is so angry is because, he informed his employer his not Ok, on "R U OK" day. But his employer doesn't have the training or resources to help, happens every day.
WTF is wrong with these people?
Maniacs who do not enjoy their job, hence having fun smashing peoples property for the joy of it. It's the same like teens going around doing graffiti, ripping seats off trains and stations, using a knife to poke holes on seats and public property, throwing rocks and bottles at bus stops smashing glass and panels for the sake of fun etc
It's not like I haven't seen it all
How it is that the Japanese baggage handlers can treat people and their belongings with basic decency and these Aussies blokes can't? Is it a sense of entitlement the Aussies feel from being able to rely on high centrelink unemployment benefits if they get fired from their jobs, or is it just service orientated training that are severely lacking?
Absolute difference in treatment and class when I fly Asian airlines versus Qantas internationally, which I have avoided despite collecting heaps of FF points from all the ozbargain deals.
Japanese baggage handlers haven’t had their job outsourced for a third of what they were on.
Pay peanuts, get monkeys.
Need to pay well to load/unload bags? Of course not, but someone who feels they’re paid more than their worth isn’t going to f&@k around and find out like these guys.
Yeah f Qantas not going with them
No wonder my luggage is always dented when I get it back. It's bad, but my Samsonite suitcase takes it like a champ, the plastic doesn't crack, its such good quality.
Sorry to disappoint but Samsonite do crack and cannot be repaired.
Just do a google image search.
I'm sure it does eventually. I've had mine for 5 years now, been for at least 5 trips, each time comes out with huge dents, but it hasn't cracked yet.
I got it for $349 claiming TRS on my way overseas when I first got it, so I think that's pretty good value.
Nothing will last forever of course.
Obviously this is shit, but if anybody thinks this sort of behavior is uncommon, you'll be in for a rude surprise if you ever worked in similar baggage handling, or parcel postage.
I guarantee a proportion of aus post packages are treated worse, at least most of the ones that drop out of automated scanning/sorting.
Having flown a huge amount I know often this is the reality of how my baggage is handled, broken bags, locks, damaged items inside etc isn't anything new.
Little to no recourse as its always pushed back to the airport or the baggage handling crew and no one has any accountability.
However to make a video of it and then post it really shows some level of brilliance you get from a special section of Aussies, that's part of our problem.
The level of entitlement from these superstars that they can't even do the simplest of jobs or feel they are justified attempting to destroy other people's things because they think it's fun, hate the job or think they're not paid enough says a lot about the state of things.
I think the concerning part is that if you applied this same behavior shown in the videos in to other low paying unskilled jobs where it's more visible such as at a colesworth, bakery, car dealership (service dept apprentice) or courier that people would be much more upset at the utter disregard for other people's belongings or purchases.
Yes it happens at car dealerships (cars being thrashed or damaged) but much less often, couriers in a rush are known to throw stuff (and then break whatever you were having delivered) but if you see it and confront them about it their attitude disappears immediately as they know they've done wrong.
You've also got an easier chance of proving the malicious damage than you do with airport baggage handlers.
Defending them based on the low rate of pay does not excuse this behavior and complete inability or unwillingness to just do the simple job they applied for, I won't accept that as a valid reason for this to be accepted.
I blame Swissport, Qantas and Joyce, he is the head of the snake that needs to be cut off.
Speaking with QF staff checking in for a flight from Melbourne earlier this week I did joke and ask about the situation, they shook their heads and were angry that most likely they'd (those in the video) would remain employed as they are struggling that hard for staff they can't really afford to fire anyone.
I hope that's not the case, I hope they're not only sacked but they have a terribly difficult time finding future employment as karma for behaving like c&%ts.
One solution would be to have live feeds of the baggage handling fed straight to large screens on each carousel so you can watch all bags being unloaded on to the belt before they come out and do the rounds.
This knowledge that everyone is watching would improve the trust level from passengers while making staff aware their actions are on show for all to see.
You also can't complain about the CCTV situation for those workers if I have to scan my own items at a colesworth and be recorded and monitored for wrong doing as a customer.
I see this as the revenge of the proletariat (minimum wage workers) upon the middle class oppressors (rich people who are constantly travelling by air). No pity from me.
Start by treating the poor with decency. Pay them middle class wages.
why would anyone pay these degenerates well, they obviously don't give a crap about anyone but themselves and treat other peoples belonging (some of whom may well be far worse off then them) with utter contempt. Flying hasn't just been for rich people for decades.
anyone knows who / how this video was recorded? from the angle it doesnt appear as if it's a hidden camera?
if it's a hidden camera, who put it there? I don't think any passengers could simply enter the area to place a camera
if it isnt hidden camera, who leaked the video? i cant imagine it's Swissport / Qantas ….
Hopefully nobody is shocked as this is nothing new for these types of jobs. Its one good reason to never write FRAGILE all over your bag.
On return to Melbourne one my baggage arrived late. I got it a week later but the baggage was so damaged I had to throw it out. The wheel was ripped off and there was a hole in the suitcase. I tried to go through insurance but the procedures and paperwork meant I may only get compensated for a 2year old suitcase. Not to mention some of the items in the bag was damaged beyond use.
Horrible experience!!
Some class action law suit should be taken against Qantas and the airports. I suspect this is not an isolated issue with just Qantas but other airport operators as well.
The workers have now been sacked. Merry Christmas a**holes!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/10174967…
As a result they have had to pack their own bags and leave… I wonder if they handled their own bags and possessions the same way on their way out…?! 🤔
I haven't flown with Qantas for at least 30 years…and refuse to use them