Qantas cancels 40 flights, delay two dozen as engineers plan afternoon strikes

Qantas will be forced to cancel as many as 40 flights and delay two dozen others as the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association prepares to implement a number of stoppages this afternoon, as it seeks a 15% pay increase over the next three years.

Update: The union has called off all strikes, but Qantas has informed passengers that the previously cancelled and delayed flights will not be restored. 

It is only the latest skirmish between the airline and its various employee groups, resulting in cancellations and delays, with baggage handlers and pilots also butting heads with Qantas over the past few months. The engineers union is seeking, as it has over much of the past year, a 15% pay increase over the next three years.

Industrial action has been ongoing for the past six weeks, with tens of thousands of passengers affected by numerous delays.

According to a statement issued by Qantas late last week, 24 flights will be delayed up to three and a half hours, while 11 international services are set to be delayed as well. As many as 40 flights will be cancelled.

“We will deploy larger aircraft and roster qualified management engineers to operational roles to minimise the impact, however there will still be significant impacts on our passengers,” group executive of government and corporate affairs Olivia Wirth said in a statement.

Qantas was contacted by SmartCompany this morning, but was informed by Qantas there have been no updates since the statement was made.

The ALAEA was also contacted this morning, although no representative was available to speak. According to a statement published on Friday, union federal secretary Steve Purvinas said four hour stoppages will occur in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Qantas has taken out a full-page advertisement this morning, with the company accusing its employees of mounting a campaign against the company. It claims that if the unions’ demands are met, ticket prices will need to be raised and the company will become uncompetitive.

“Qantas has been in negotiations with the union on a new enterprise bargaining agreement for over 12 months,” Wirth said in a statement. “Qantas licensed aircraft maintenance engineers are already the highest paid in the world and the current demands from the union are unreasonable.”

Qantas claims the union is seeking a 15% increase in wages over the next three years, the remuneration of the average engineer to reach $170,000 in 2013. It also claims the union is seeking a guarantee that no changes be made to current work practices.

The strikes are set to begin at 3pm in Sydney, 5pm in Melbourne and 4pm in Brisbane.