Airports around the country are bracing for chaos as hundreds of Qantas engineers walk off the job. But the airline has assured customers there will be no impact on their travel plans on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
About 500 workers from three different unions began a 24-hour strike action at 3.30am this morning. It’s expected to impact major airports across the country, including Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide, and will end at 7.30am on Saturday.
Friday marks the first day of the six-week summer travel period when 13.5 million travellers pass through Australia’s domestic airports. It’s also the first day of school holidays in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
The striking workers, responsible for the towing and marshalling of planes, are calling for a 5 per cent per year pay increase over 5 years after what they say is 3.5 years of frozen wages. Qantas says it has put forward a competitive package with 3 per cent per year over three years, with negotiations now at a stalemate.
Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union National Secretary Steve Murphy says industrial action was the only way to get Qantas to the bargaining table. It’s been six weeks since the last strike.
“Workers have no other choice. They will be taking industrial action to bring Qantas back to the bargaining table,” Murphy said.
“Qantas is to blame if there’s any disruption to commuters over the holiday period. They have had six weeks to simply do what they said they would.”
A Qantas spokesperson said a number of contingencies are in place to prevent delays.
“Around 160 aircraft maintenance engineers are rostered on during Friday’s industrial action, and only members of the alliance unions can take industrial action,” said Qantas.
The spokesperson noted there were no delays or cancellations during the previous strikes.
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