Qantas strikes to continue after union rejects offer
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Qantas will be hit by strikes this Friday after the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU)rejected the airline’s latest settlement offer. The TWU is campaigning for better pay and conditions for its members, and assurances that the airline will not outsource jobs overseas.
Qantas said the latest failure to reach a settlement would mean that industrial action will go ahead on Friday 28 October, when a series of one-hour strikes will cause 66 flights to be delayed by up to 70 minutes, affecting10,100 passengers.
Qantas Group Executive for Operations, said; “We tried to compromise on a number of matters, however we just cannot agree to all of their demands,”said Lyell Strambi, operations executive for the Qantas Group. “In particular,demands that would make Qantas less efficient and compromise our ability to compete effectively”. He added that Qantas has no plans to offshore TWU jobs.
The airline added that it is meeting with its pilots’ union on Friday in an effort to reach a settlement. Talks are likely to revolve around the union’s demand for pay parity between Qantas and Jetstar pilots – something Qantas has said would be impossible to implement.