Memo to the Qantas public relations team: if you mount a Twitter campaign calling for travellers’ luxury flying experiences in the middle of an unresolved industrial dispute, be aware there might be a certain amount of blow-back.

In the meantime, if you’re lost track of the various developments in relation to this landmark industrial dispute, Greg Bamber, Professor in the Department of Management at Monash University previews what’s next and gives a re-cap for The Conversation.

How did it get to this?

After Qantas grounded its world-wide fleet on October 29, 2011, Fair Work Australia (FWA) convened a “full bench” of three members who listened to submissions from the parties, working late into the night on that Saturday and Sunday. Then FWA determined that Qantas and the three unions that were in dispute with it should terminate all industrial action. FWA awarded the parties in dispute a period of 21 days in which to try to negotiate settlements. The parties were obliged to engage in bargaining “in good faith”.