Up to 9,000 Qantas staff are threatening strike action unless the airline does more to limit the use of low wage contract workers.
Any walk-out would involve pilots, aircraft refuellers, baggage and transport staff and engineers, Australian Transport Workers Union federal secretary Tony Sheldon said. “We’ve said to Qantas that there are 9,000 members of the Transport Workers Union, and workers right across this industry, who expect the company to negotiate,” he said.
“And the simple answer has been they (Qantas) are not prepared to negotiate on job security, on safety for the Australian public. If that’s an issue they won’t negotiate on to improve then I can see the workforce only taking one step – which Qantas is aware – and that is industrial action.”
Qantas staff want a 4% pay rise with additional superannuation payments, as well as job security clauses. The airline said it was disappointed the union was threatening industrial action when talks had yet to be held.
“Qantas is not in discussions with the TWU about a new pay agreement and is not due to be until July and these threats are just a grab for media attention,” Qantas said. “This so called ‘job security’ claim is a union tactic to remove any flexibility the company has to deal with the volatile nature of the aviation industry.
“We are extremely disappointed that the unions are putting their unrealistic demands ahead of the interests of the travelling public.” Qantas posted a four-fold increase in half-year net profits to Aus$241 million ($240.6 million) last month. But Sheldon reportedly said that service had suffered as more contract workers were used.
“You ask anyone who catches a flight for Qantas and they’ve seen the deterioration of service – the decrease in flight attendants, the planes that don’t get serviced, sometimes the shoddy equipment that gets used,” he claimed. “And it’s continuing to deteriorate and that’s because of outsourcing.”