Hundreds of Qantas engineers are set to initiate industrial action at major Australian airports on Friday, reflecting growing tensions ahead of the airline’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). Around 600 line maintenance engineers will participate in two four-hour work stoppages that will impact operations, including towing and marshalling aircraft and conducting final safety checks before flights. Scheduled for peak travel times, these actions will likely disrupt air traffic during morning and evening hours across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and Hobart.
The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance, which encapsulates major aviation unions including the AMWU, AWU, and ETU, is advocating for better pay conditions. The workers’ dissatisfaction stems from a perceived laxity by Qantas in addressing wage concerns through meaningful dialogue. Additionally, the impending AGM in Hobart will see discussions on executive pay amidst this escalating worker unrest.
This industrial action coincides with not only the AGM but also follows a contentious period marked by significant shareholder dissent last year, where an 83 percent vote rejected the remuneration report, potentially leading to a board spill upon a repeat occurrence. Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement have been ongoing since April, following the expiry of the previous agreement in June. The Alliance’s demands include a 15 percent wage increase in the first year to cover past wage freezes and a 5 percent annual rise thereafter, contrasting with Qantas’s offer of a 3 percent annual increase.
Steve Murphy, National Secretary of AMWU remarked on the dual challenges facing Qantas CEO, Vanessa Hudson. “The workers who deliver Qantas’ world-class safety record have fallen off their radar. Vanessa Hudson needs to show that she can land a fair deal that gets these workers back on the job and the planes safely back into the air,” Murphy stated.
AWU National Secretary, Paul Farrow, said “As Qantas celebrates another year of billion-dollar profits, we want to remind people that their success, and their strong safety record and reputation is due to the hard work of their engineers keeping the planes in the air.”
“Qantas has a history of bad behaviour – ghost flights, illegally firing workers, rorting $2B from the public and paying millions in executive bonuses, price gouging customers – but no one has held them to account.”
These sentiments were echoed by Michael Wright, National Secretary of ETU, who said “These highly skilled Qantas workers are standing up and standing together. They know what they’re worth and Qantas needs to pay them accordingly.”
“Qantas’ safety record is only at such a high standard because of the excellent work these workers perform day in and day out. It’s time for Qantas to do the right thing, value the work, and pay the workers what they deserve.”
The industrial actions, involving rallies and public addresses by union leaders, will occur simultaneously as the airline prepares to address executive compensation and operational strategies at its AGM. The focus remains sharply on how Qantas will navigate these competing interests amid heightened scrutiny over its wage policies and corporate governance.
More News
