[071011.EN.AIR] Qantas Workers Threaten More Go-Slows And Strikes From October 7

QANTAS Airways has reported that the Transport Workers Union (TWU) has warned them that a campaign of go-slows and mini-strikes - or "protective action" - will commence on Friday October 7.

Management said in a statement that they received notification of the action, "just hours after a one-hour stoppage by the TWU across the country caused disruption for thousands of Qantas passengers ahead of the long weekend in NSW and ACT and football finals," a statement said.

The action on October 7 will take place between 16:00 hrs and 18:00 hrs, a peak travel period.

Said Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth: "The TWU's conduct is a disgrace, showing that it has absolutely no interest in returning to the negotiating table on behalf of its members.

"Today's strike action had barely ended before the TWU began talking about the next round. Clearly, the TWU leadership has absolutely no concerns about the impact its behaviour is having on the travelling public.

"This is nothing less than a campaign to cause anxiety and inconvenience for Qantas customers and intimidate Qantas management," she said.

"As we have done during the previous two TWU strikes, we will look to implement contingency plans that enable us to maintain operations. However, there are likely to be flight cancellations and a high number of delays," she said.

Ms Wirth said that despite months of negotiations on a new enterprise bargaining agreement, management had been unable to reach an agreement with the TWU.

"The TWU's claim for 15 per cent pay increase over the next three years is just not sustainable in the current economic environment. We are willing to negotiate reasonable pay increases, but the TWU is asking us to agree to rates 12 per cent higher than it accepted in its new deal with Virgin (and which includes a wage freeze and a lower pay scale for new starters). This would give Virgin a significant competitive advantage over Qantas," she said.

"The union also wants to place restrictions on Qantas which would remove our flexibility to scale our workforce up and down in line with busy and quiet periods," she added.

Source : HKSG, 04.10.11.