Flight disruption warning as Qantas engineers strike
Qantas engineers have warned of flight disruptions as they walk off the job on Thursday in the first of a series of strikes to roll out across Australia.
The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance said the protected industrial action would begin in Melbourne on Thursday and continue in other capital cities next week.
The four-hour work stoppages would follow at airports around Australia on Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week, involving hundreds of engineers.
The union warned its industrial action was “highly likely to affect Qantas flights in all major capitals”, but the airline disagrees.
The first strike on Thursday comes on one of the busiest weekends of the year, with a flood of AFL fans from Sydney and Brisbane flying to Melbourne for Saturday’s grand final between interstate rivals.
It also coincides with the school holidays in Victoria, Queensland and the NT and next week’s school holidays in the remaining states.
A Qantas spokesperson said the airline believed customers would not be affected.
“We’re putting contingencies in place and don’t currently expect this industrial action to have an impact on customers,” said a statement.”
Unions are pushing for a 15 per cent pay rise this year and a further five per cent per year going forward, which they say would make up for 3.5 years of wage freezes.
Stay informed, daily
Approximately 1100 aircraft maintenance workers are covered by the agreement under negotiation, which is about 45 per cent of the airline’s engineers.
Qantas said it had been negotiating over the demands.
“We’ve held a series of meetings with the unions and made progress on a number of items,” a spokesperson said.
“We want to reach an agreement that includes pay rises and lifestyle benefits for our people.”
– TND
