Ferguson says govt has power to intervene in Qantas strikes.
Qantas has just announced that five aircraft will be grounded and 100 domestic flights a week cut due to the ongoing industrial action by the airline’s engineers.
Overtime bans and a ‘go-slow’ approach has led to a backlog of maintenance, according to QF ceo Alan Joyce, who said four 737s and one 767 would be grounded for at least a month.
“Regrettably the industrial action from the licensed aircraft maintenance engineers’ union is now making it difficult to clear maintenance tasks in a timely fashion,” he said.
Speaking at the Tourism Australia Directions conference this morning, federal tourism minister Martin Ferguson signalled that the government was considering its options in regard to the ongoing disputes.
He said provisions in the Fair Work Act allow for industrial action to be suspended or terminated “if it threatens significant damage to the economy or to the welfare or safety of the population.
Fergusons said the government “will be required to consider potential actions available to us under the Act” if the industrial action by engineers, pilots and the Transport Workers Union continues.
MEANWHILE the Australian Tourism Export Council has also urged unions to return to the negotiating table, warning that the strikes are having much wider impacts than just on Qantas.
ATEC md Felicia Mariani told TD that with aviation being the lifeblood of tourism “it’s important to start talking about the implications of these ongoing strikes for the industry.
“More than a million Australian workers depend on tourism for their livelihoods, and we implore these airline unions to consider the collateral damage they are causing,” she said.
More information in Travel Daily as it comes to hand.