Qantas strikes both halted and ongoing

Some strikes affecting passengers on Qantas will continue whilst others have been temporarily called off.

Travel Insurance News - 20/10/2011

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Ground workers are set to take part in industrial action in the coming week, despite union heads calling off ongoing strikes by the Australian flag carrier’s engineering staff.

Thursday saw a new round of strikes announced by the Transport Workers Union, which represents ramp workers, baggage handlers, aircraft cleaners and catering staff. The action follows an impasse in talks in regards to work conditions and pay.

Members of the union will strike next Wednesday for three hours beginning at 7:00am in Sydney and Cairns, whilst those in Canberra will strike for one hour beginning at 4:30pm. In addition, Melbourne will see 1,000 employees strike for an hour at 8:00am, whilst Brisbane will see a one-hour strike of 700 workers at 7:00am.

The announcement came just after the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) said that it had asked its employees to discontinue ongoing action for a three-week period as a ‘challenge’ for Qantas management to get aircraft back in the air, rather than blaming engineers, according to union heads. The union seeks job security and increased pay for its members and has accused the airline of taking the opportunity to ground some soon-to-be retired aircraft, which carrier officials deny.

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