Qantas Successfully Averts Chaos, Yet More Strikes Looming
Qantas could face further strikes as travelers head to airports during the busy summer holiday season.
On Dec. 20, major airports managed to avoid travel chaos amid widespread industrial action by the airline’s engineers on one of the busiest days of the year.
Wage negotiations between a group of unions and Australia’s largest airline came to a halt in November, resulting in a 24-hour stoppage.
This was the second strike in a week by the three-union Qantas Engineers’ Alliance targeting the peak holiday travel period.
The unions claimed over 1000 engineers across key Australian airports participated in the strikes, while Qantas stated that only 160 engineers were actually working during that time.
Qantas confirmed that flights were not impacted by the strike on Dec. 20.
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The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, Australian Workers’ Union, and Electrical Trades Union consortium stated that Qantas triggered the walkout by refusing to negotiate.
Qantas declined to meet the union’s demand for a five percent annual wage increase with a 15 percent first-year raise.
A union representative mentioned that the strikes will continue into the new year, hoping that Qantas will come back to the bargaining table.
The union’s objective is to impact Qantas’s operations after years of what they perceive as exploitation without fair compensation.
A Qantas spokesperson reassured customers that the airline was working diligently to minimize any disruptions and had contingency plans in place.
Qantas clarified that during the Dec. 20 industrial action, only 160 line maintenance engineers were on duty, with additional staff taking part in maintenance teams not directly involved in flight support.
The Australian Workers Union shared an image of Qantas pajamas on social media, criticizing the airline’s approach to negotiations.
Qantas highlighted that they were offering a competitive package to engineers, including pay increases and career advancement opportunities.
Despite ongoing negotiations and industrial action since September, Qantas managed to prevent customer delays or cancellations.
The airline expressed disappointment over the unions’ decision to disrupt travel plans during the holiday season.
