Hundreds of Qantas engineers have walked off the job during one of the busiest times of the year after long-running wage negotiations between unions and the airline stalled.
More than 500 engineers across major Australian airports started walking off the job from 3.30am on Friday and are set to strike until Saturday morning.
The airline is refusing to buckle to the union’s demands for a 25 per cent pay rise over three years.
But the nation’s largest carrier said the strike action was having little effect on Christmas flights, and as of 8.30am on Friday, 97 per cent of Qantas flights departed on time.
“We have put a number of contingencies in place and extra resourcing on the ground to ensure our customers get away as planned,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
“As always, at this time of year, our aircraft are full, and airports are busy, so we urge customers to give themselves more time to get through security and get to their aircraft.”
Qantas said it was offering a competitive package including pay rises, upskilling and career progression.
A months-long pay deal stand-off has prompted hundreds of Qantas engineers to take industrial action. Source: AAP / Rob Blakers
The strike comes after a six-week pause in industrial action during which the parties resolved to continue negotiations over a new enterprise agreement.
The union consortium, made up of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), Australian Workers’ Union and Electrical Trades Union, said Qantas forced the walkout by refusing to negotiate.
Further industrial action is planned for next Friday and during the Christmas period.
AMWU national secretary Steve Murphy said: “Workers were asked by Qantas in good faith to not take industrial action as a commitment to resolve bargaining.”
“For six weeks, Qantas has shown they cannot live up to their own values — they lied … workers are feeling disrespected by the behaviour of Qantas, and we all know how that feels.”
Unions have been negotiating a deal with the airline since April but were unable to reach an agreement before the existing arrangements expired in June.
