Qantas strike sparks fears over flight delays as school holidays kick off in one Australian state
Qantas engineers plan to strike in Sydney to coincide with the NSW school holidays and the lead-up to the NRL grand final, as they step up their fight for better pay.
Many workers will stay home early next week as their union pushes for a 15 percent pay increase in the first year of a new enterprise agreement, followed by five percent each year thereafter.
On Thursday, strike action by Qantas engineers in Melbourne threatened disruption ahead of Saturday’s AFL Grand Final, but the airline said customers were not affected.
Qantas says it has prepared contingencies for the next round of industrial action, which will take place at the start of the school holidays and just days before the NRL Grand Final on Sunday, October 6.
Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Paul Farrow said there was no “strategy” behind the timing of Monday’s strike, after four months of negotiations.
He sympathized with Qantas passengers who might be delayed.
“It’s completely understandable, but that’s a problem for Qantas, not a problem for our members, because our members only have a window to negotiate their wages and then their agreement expires,” he said on Friday.
“Anyone who has frustrations, please discuss this with Qantas.”
Qantas engineers plan to strike in Sydney as the school holidays begin and travelers flock to the city for the NRL Grand Final (stock image)
Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Paul Farrow said there was no “strategy” behind the timing of Monday’s strike, which follows four months of negotiations (stock image)
He described the airline’s offer of a three per cent annual pay rise as a “slap in the face”, especially after pay freezes and redundancies during the height of the Covid pandemic.
“Our members are asked to share the pain when the company falls on hard times, and they do,” Mr Farrow said.
“If the company starts making billions in profits and the employees say, ‘Times are good now,’ the answer is no.”
Qantas posted a net profit of $1.25 billion in the 2023-2024 financial year, down 28 percent from the previous year.
About 1,100 aircraft maintenance personnel, or about 45 percent of the airline’s engineers, are covered by the agreement being negotiated.
About 300,000 people will travel through airports in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane ahead of the AFL Grand Final on Saturday, according to the Tourism and Transport Forum.
Victorian Sports Minister Steve Dimopoulos said on Friday Qantas and Virgin Australia had to set up about 40 extra flights to accommodate passengers traveling from Brisbane and Sydney to Melbourne for the AFL Grand Final.
A survey of 1,500 people by PureProfile found that 71 percent of Australians plan to take a break in September or October, while about a third are heading interstate or abroad.