Qantas says flights will be delayed or cancelled if its pilots go ahead with strikes, with the Australian and International Pilots Association to decide today on whether it will stage a walk-out over pay negotiations.
A spokesperson for the airline said this morning that if the strikes go ahead, flights will be cancelled and the company will need to look at contingency plans.
“We think it would be extremely disappointing if the pilots were to go ahead with industrial action, and it would have an effect on flights and preferences,” the spokesperson said.
“There would certainly be cancellations and delays, but of course that would depend on the extent of the action. We would have to look at some sort of contingency plan to keep an international schedule running, but we’re working through all of this.”
The AIPA has been negotiating with Qantas for some time over pay and the issue of the company expanding through low-cost subsidiaries.
The pilots say that Jetconnect and Jetstar are being used so Qantas can avoid paying pilots higher wages and actually undermine employment agreements. Over 100 pilots will meet this morning to decide whether further action should be taken.
While the union claims they are seeking a pay agreement which equates to rises of only 2.5% per year, Qantas says the combined effect of the wage claim and other travel claims are more in the realm of 26% over three years.
The union says that Qantas is “on the brink”, and claims that it refuses to negotiate job security in return for more flexibility. Union president Barry Jackson said in a statement action will be taken if necessary.
“We are witnessing the demise of an icon through mismanagement. This is not the first time some of the Qantas managers have been through this.”
“Many were centrally involved in the destruction of Ansett and Australian Airlines and back then, as they are today, the same industrial consultants are advising them. If Qantas disappears they will have wiped out all of the founding entities in Australian aviation.”
Jackson says the company refuses to renegotiate contracts so pilots’ jobs will remain secure.
“The response has been to mislead the public about the quantum of our claim. There have been no formal discussions to address the claims, management have simply dismissed them with contempt.”
Qantas suffered threats of a strike in July last year when re-fuellers said they would walk off the job. At the time, the Airline Fuel Services union said the company wanted to introduce a two-tiered pay system.
However, any delays caused by a pilots’ strike are sure to be more widespread.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
