Qantas claims it ‘likely wouldn’t be here’ if it had paid subsidiaries’ staff same as direct employees

Airline tells inquiry into Labor’s industrial relations bill it had to adapt labour practices to compete in ‘highly competitive global market’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastQantas has warned it could have gone bust if hadn’t been able to offer new staff of its subsidiaries lower pay than the “legacy” conditions of the main airline.Nathan Safe, the acting executive manager of industrial relations at Qantas, gave that evidence to a Senate inquiry on Tuesday, defending the airline’s “complex” structure as one that had “evolved legally”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup