Strike by engineers won’t hit flights or safety, says Qantas

Qantas Airways, the national airline of Australia, has sought to assure passengers that the strike by the carrier’s engineers would not result in grounding any flights and asked the passengers to check departure times on mobile phones and also on its website.

Around 200 engineers who check the airworthiness of the Qantas fleet has been on the warpath since November 13, 2009, by refusing to work overtime to supervise repairs of aircraft in the evenings and on weekends.

Qantas Airways said in a statement that it was planning to use the services of senior managers to address engineering-related problems over the weekend and that these senior managers are “accredited to make the decisions.”

According to David Epstein, executive for corporate affairs of the Qantas Group, a third of an average of 15 calls a day are made to the engineers outside of normal working hours and typically at night.

In a statement, Epstein assured the customers of Qantas that there will be no disruption to the airline’s operations and that the passengers customers “can travel with confidence.”

He went on tot say that no plane will be grounded and that “safety will, as always, remain our top priority.”’

Epstein said Qantas Airways had held talks with the engineers and appreciated their contributions to the company, but rejected the demand by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia for a 30% wage increase, saying it is “unsustainable and unreasonable.”

In a press release, Catherine Bolger, director of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia, said it was the first time the members of the organisation was resorting to “industrial action.”

On the announcement by the Qantas management that the airline would make us of the services of senior managers in place of the striking engineers, Catherine Bolger commented that her Association has concerns over “how up-to-date those managers are with aviation technology” since they have not had any hands-on experience recently.

She said it was difficult for the Association to predict the extent of flight disruption that the engineers’ strike would cause since that will depend on the technical glitches that Qantas planes might develop.

The industrial action, Catherine Bolger clarified, was not only about pay but also the engineers’ concerns over fatigue caused by being asked to work at night as well as about the “professional development” of engineers who should keep pace with new developments in aviation technology.

It was after negotiations with the Qantas management over a period of 7 months failed to yield an accord that 90% of engineers, who are members of the Association, voted to resort to strike.

The Qantas management took the stand that the questions safety and fatigue have to be discussed in a separate forum and not as a part of the negotiations on wage rise.

Qantas Airways also is having problems with three other labour unions, including unions of baggage-handlers, of cabin crew, and of ground staff.

The strike by the engineers comes as the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating engine-related faults that forced a Qantas Airways flight to return to Brisbane a few days ago.