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Qantas strike action halted
- The Australian airline will no longer cancel its morning peak hour flights tomorrow. The decision was taken after the licensed aircraft engineers union halted its planned hour-long stoppage strike action, a Qantas spokesperson has announced.
However, the engineers still plan to take industrial action next Monday and Tuesday, including work stoppages and limitations on work.
The cancellation would have affected 31 flights and delayed another 46 services across the country - about 2500 passengers would have been affected.
In a statement issued by the union’s federal secretary, Steve Purvinas, he said that the work stoppage planned for tomorrow had been called off due to ‘‘concerns about the growing number of technical faults that have emerged on Qantas aircraft in the last 48 hours’’.
He cited an inflight engine fire and shutdown on a Singapore bound aircraft, a number of unscheduled engine replacements, and fuel leaks from an engine in Japan and landing gear problems on a 737 aircraft.
“In light of the widespread technical issues confronted by the airline, we have decided that planned work stoppages for Friday are to be cancelled due to the compounding impact it may have on Qantas passengers,” he said. These claims have been rejected by Qantas.
Talks between the union and Qantas in front of Fair Work Australia will resume on Monday. The engineers union has the ability to stop planes flying due to the critical work the engineers perform, its members have endorsed a range of actions including strikes of up to two days, and work bans.
The union states its major concern was Qantas management's decision to outsource maintenance work overseas while Qantas has accused the union of sabotaging talks and misrepresenting claims for increased wages and conditions. In a second action faced by the airline, it long-haul pilots have warned that they would seek permission to conduct a secret ballot to authorise protected industrial action. AIPA (The Australian and International Pilots Association) said it had "drawn a line in the sand" because Qantas management was not negotiating seriously.
The first steps towards protected industrial action will be taken next week should serious negotiation not be entered into. The pilots have proposed job security provisions in that Qantas flights should be operated by a Qantas pilot.
