HUNDREDS OF QANTAS ENGINEERS TO STRIKE (Wednesday 23/10)
Qantas Engineers’ Alliance Media Alert
Around 300 Qantas engineers across Australia will walk off the job for 24 hours from Wednesday morning, following repeated industrial actions by workers across major airports this past month, after the airline refused to meet with workers to discuss the latest enterprise agreement.
Engine components maintenance engineers in Melbourne will strike for 24 hours from 9 AM AEDT on Wednesday the 23rd of October with a large rally expected at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport’s International Terminal from 10 AM AEDT.
Brisbane Heavy Maintenance Engineers will also strike from 1:30 AM AEST for 24 hours, with a large rally planned at the Brisbane International Terminal from 9 AMAEST.
The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance — a union alliance comprising the AMWU, the AWU, and the ETU — said further action was necessary after Qantas management refused to return to the bargaining table and increase its previous offer.
The current enterprise agreement expired at the end of June, and the Alliance has put forward a wage claim of 5 per cent per year, with a 15 per cent first-year increase to compensate for 3.5 years of wage freezes and as an industry catch-up payment.
Steve Murphy, AMWU National Secretary:
“Union members are voting overwhelmingly to escalate our industrial activities. This is because every time there is a problem at Qantas, the executives ignore it and just hope that it will go away. Well we’re not going anywhere.”
“If Qantas wants to show the general public that things are going to change, then valuing the workers that deliver their safety record should be number one priority.”
Paul Farrow, AWU National Secretary:
“When times were tough, our members accepted years of wage freezes. Now that the profits are flowing, it’s time for Qantas to come to the table with a decent offer. No more delays, no more excuses.”
“Qantas wouldn’t have the safety record it does without the work our members do every day to keep these planes in the air.”
Michael Wright, ETU National Secretary:
“It’s disgraceful for Qantas to be making profits in the billions while these highly skilled workers are having to go without the pay increase they rightfully deserve.”
“These workers have suffered wage freezes through COVID, all while continuing to make Qantas one of the safest airlines around. Qantas needs to stop stalling, start showing their respect to these workers and pay them what they’re worth.”
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5 comments
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Andrew Smith
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Heather
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Pete
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Terence Mills
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GL
Return to home pageGood, but the issue in Australia as many former union members eg. boomers retire, many other employees are in sectors or occupations lacking support or coverage of a union.
This includes logistics, cleaning, hospitality, IT, education etc. with many temporary residents ie. students and backapckers, are lacking full employment and other rights, while media and too many Australians claim we don’t need them?
Cause and effect. Poor Government policy, poor corporate management, poor management and poor decisions always comes back to bite harder than the initial intent.
To understand what is happening with QANTAS, step back and consider these points, are they relevant?:
1. The Federal Court has ruled that hundreds of former Qantas workers who were illegally sacked in 2020 will receive financial compensation from the airline. Thanks BAR members, at last you called out unlawful sackings following unlawful coercive mandates related to an experimental gene-therapy roll-out. Years late, and after so much damage has been done to the economy, basic human rights and the health of many, but thanks for setting up for the next leg down.
2. What’s the plan Stan? Is ‘UK Fires Absolute Zero’ document relevant? Specifically, see the row ‘Flying’ of diagram, pages 6-7. This link should work – https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/75916920-51f6-4f9c-ade5-52cbf55d5e73/content – if not google ‘UK Fires Absolute Zero document’ and Download the Report.
3. Is it possible the plan is bankrupt QANTAS by pretending that it is all about their mistreatment of workers and not really part of a broader agenda to dissolve privileged West lifestyles via adopting zero energy usage targets?
Let’s not forget that according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Qantas Group was the largest recipient of the JobKeeper scheme, claiming $160.5m in FY2020 and a further $695.5m in FY2021.
Yet still Qantas illegally sacked employees AND they never did repay any of the Jobkeeper payments.
I wonder if they’re going to hit the gremlin up for the money, he did cause the problem in the first place.