No engineer strikes at Qantas until at least 2015.
Fair Work Australia has this afternoon endorsed the new agreement between Qantas and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA), with the workplace determination in place until 31 December 2014.
Qantas ceo Alan Joyce said he was pleased that an agreement had finally been reached and that Qantas had maintained the flexibility needed to operate competitively in the global aviation industry.
“The determination from Fair Work Australia does not contain any of the restrictive demands that would have handed control of parts of the airline to the union, however it provides reasonable pay increases to our workers,” he said.
The formal statement of the agreement concludes that both parties “have constructively sought to minimise their differences and support a workplace determination which substantially continues the terms and conditions that have operated in the past. Certain modifications have been agreed as part of an overall package including increases in wages and allowances”.
The arbitration process continues, with Fair Work Australia continuing to work on agreements with the pilots’ union and the Transport Workers Union as part of the mandated outcomes following the grounding of the Qantas fleet in late Oct last year.
More information in tomorrow’s Travel Daily.