After experiencing years of wage freezes while Qantas raked in billions in profit, hundreds of engineers from across the country will take major strike action over the next two weeks after being frustrated by management’s refusal to negotiate a fair deal, according to the union.
Industrial action will commence Thursday, 26 September, in Melbourne with further actions planned over the next two weeks nationwide at all major airports. It is highly likely to affect Qantas flights in all major capitals., the union said.
The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance – a union alliance comprising the AMWU, the AWU, and the ETU – said engineers have had their skills devalued by the airline and their wages go backward significantly in real terms over the past decade.
At the same time they have seen management boast of record profits and announce eye-watering executive bonuses.
The wage claim made by the Alliance is for 5 percent per year, and a 15 percent first year payment to make up for 3.5 years of wage freezes.
Steve Murphy, AMWU National Secretary, said: “Nothing has changed at Qantas — their workers feel undervalued, underpaid and under-appreciated. If you’ve had a bad Qantas experience, well that’s nothing compared to how Qantas makes their workers feel every day. Our highly skilled members deserve fair wages for the incredible work they do to keep us all safe in the air.”
Paul Farrow, AWU National Secretary, said: “Qantas engineers are dedicated to getting passengers where they need to go safely and on time. As a former aircraft engineer I know they never take industrial action lightly. On this occasion their hand has been forced because Qantas management is refusing to countenance a fair deal. You can’t expect to announce billions in profits and executive bonuses and simultaneously tell the engineers who keep your planes safe to take less and less home to their families. At some point people are going to say enough.”
Michael Wright, ETU National Secretary, said: “Aircraft engineers are highly skilled and their services are in demand in a variety of sectors. Qantas has traditionally attracted the very best and brightest, and they are why it has the amazing safety record it has today. But if management insists on treating its engineers like garbage, then it’s pretty obvious to see what’s going to happen. Already we are seeing Qantas having to offshore maintenance because they can’t retain enough quality engineers in Australia. And we know Qantas has been struggling to attract new skilled engineers who are flocking to other employers.”
Qantas has yet to issue a statement and could not be reached for comment by Asian Aviation, but said “We’re putting contingencies in place and don’t currently expect this industrial action to have an impact on customers,” in a statement to 7NEWS.com.au. “We’ve held a series of meetings with the unions and made progress on a number of items. We want to reach an agreement that includes pay rises and lifestyle benefits for our people.”
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