Qantas engineers launch snap 24-hour strike amid pay dispute
The Age
October 23, 2024

Hundreds of Qantas engineers have started a 24-hour strike in a bid to force airline management to negotiate their pay demands, as the airline said it did not expect the action to affect customers.

More than 300 engineers held rallies outside the international terminals at Melbourne’s Tullamarine and Brisbane airports on Wednesday morning.

Engine components maintenance engineers in Melbourne began strike action at 9am after heavy maintenance engineers in Brisbane downed tools at 1.30am.


Hundreds of Qantas workers strike
Around 300 Qantas engineers will down tools for 24 hours, with the union claiming the airline refused to meet with them about the most recent enterprise agreement.

The Qantas Engineer’s Alliance [QEA] – made up of three unions – said the airline’s management had refused to return to the bargaining table and increase its previous offer.

Qantas stated it does not expect the action to impact travellers.

“Our teams have worked hard to put contingencies in place and we don’t expect the industrial action in Melbourne and Brisbane today to have any impact [on] customers,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

“There’s been some industrial action by engineers since late September and so far we’ve been able to successfully ensure it hasn’t resulted in any flight delays or cancellations.

“We had a number of meetings with the unions prior to the industrial action. We want to continue to engage with them to find a way forward but they have chosen to take action. Our preference is to reach an agreement that includes pay rises and other benefits.”

The engineers’ current enterprise agreement expired at the end of June.



The QEA wants a pay rise of 5 per cent a 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”.

Related Article
New Qantas chief Vanessa Hudson will have to clean up the industrial relations mess she inherited from Alan Joyce.


“Union members are voting overwhelmingly to escalate our industrial activities,” Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Steve Murphy said in a statement.

“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.”

Last month, more than 1000 Qantas engineers went on strike for two hours at major airports around Australia. The strikers are largely made up of component engineers and heavy maintenance engineers, who typically fix brake and wheel issues.

On Monday, Qantas was fined $170,000 for three test cases by the Federal Court for illegally sacking 1700 ground workers. After a decision is made on the compensation for all the workers sacked, the embattled airline could face a potential fine of more than $100 million.

“Gravy plane: How Alan Joyce cultivated a PM and ruled the skies
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Good Weekend
Gravy plane: How Alan Joyce cultivated a PM and ruled the skies
Alan Joyce, Anthony Albanese and the opaque politics of schmooze.”

“ smh.
“If they want better wages why don’t they get a better job”
Poor Albo and best mate Joyco just can’t understand why the engineers are on strike.

Look at everything Labor has privatised, owned by overseas interest and the workers are paid less while those using the service pay more.
Most the money goes straight overseas but I’m certain a few brown paper bags are home delivered with the shopping.

Be enough to buy a $4.3m house outright...

We never did find out who ASIO identified as the traitor in parliament working for the Chinese…………

Regardless if you are Albo personally travel consultant your always going be allowed unlawfully sack workers and always get the big government business without annoying things like tenders!

Once you have the pm under your thumb your company will get away with murder or at the very least be allowed sabotage any other airlines trying break into the Australian market.

What do we want?

Cheaper air travel!

When will we get it?

Once Albo is kicked out!

What would the leprechaun have done?

Speaking of Albanese and Qantas:

PM Anthony Albanese received multiple flight upgrades from Qantas under former boss Alan Joyce, according to new book

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reportedly been given flight upgrades for at least a decade, with Qantas insiders claiming he would "directly liaise" with the airline's former boss Alan Joyce.


Quote:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reportedly had a direct line to then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to arrange flight upgrades for personal travel, according to a new book. Nearly all federal MPs can get upgrades from Qantas, as they are granted membership to the exclusive Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, which is also reserved for the likes of CEOS and board directors of major companies, court judges and high-profile TV stars. The upgrades are granted according to availability on flights and politicians do not know if they will be granted ahead of time. However, according to excerpts from a book published on Saturday in The Sydney Morning Herald's Good Weekend, Mr Albanese liaised directly with Mr Joyce to arrange upgrades, which meant he was able to issue the PM with a guaranteed upgrade.

Quote:

The travel occurred before Mr Albanese became Australia's leader.

Quote:

There is no suggestion the Prime Minister has done anything against parliamentary rules, as the travel upgrades were declared in his pecuniary interests. But the claim of access to Mr Joyce will shine a spotlight on his relationship with the former chief executive, who has described Mr Albanese as a "good mate".

Why am I not surprised?

And, no wonder Albanese couldn't get Australia's borders open fast enough and drop all remaining Covid protections after he became PM and left us all swimming in endless Covid soup.

And that was after Albanese was always criticizing Scott Morrison's handling of the pandemic while Morrison was PM.

Corrupt idiots, the lot of them.

As I've said before... the Federal ALP need to get rid of Albanese before next years election to have any chance of getting another term in government.