Qantas engineers warn of flight disruptions amid strike action

SYDNEY, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Australians have been warned of possible flight disruptions after engineers of Qantas, Australia’s national airline, walked off the job at airports across the country amid a pay dispute.
Over 1,000 engineers employed by Qantas at major airports in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra on Monday morning went on strike as part of industrial action pushing for a pay rise.
Qantas is Australia’s flag carrier and the country’s largest airline. The company in August reported a profit of 1.25 billion Australian dollars (864.5 million U.S. dollars) in the 2023-24 financial year.
The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance, which represents engineers who are members of several trade unions, said on Sunday that flights between the cities would likely be significantly affected by the work stoppage.
The alliance is calling for a new enterprise agreement with a 15 percent pay rise for engineers in the first year followed by 5 percent increases in subsequent years.
“These are the workers that get you there safely. We check the planes to make sure when they take off, everything is safe,” Steve Murphy, head of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), told Seven Network television on Monday.
Monday’s strike was the second in a series of strikes planned by the engineers after those at Melbourne airport walked off the job last Thursday.
A spokesperson for the airline said on Sunday that Qantas had contingency plans in place and did not expect the strike action to impact customers or their travel plans. ■