Qantas has been forced to cancel or delay nearly 80 flights today even though the Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) cancelled the strike planned by line maintenance engineers for four hours in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne when the airline threatened to withhold up to seven hours' pay for the time not worked.
ALAEA Federal Secretary Steve Purvinas accused the airline of “playing dirty pool with our members by threatening them for taking lawful industrial action”. He added the union was currently seeking legal advice and said they could launch legal action against the airline for unlawful adverse action against its members.
Still today, Qantas has not been given enough notice to revise its flight schedules, with the travel plans of 11,000 passengers affected. The airline says this “was an intentional game by the union” as even though the media has been notified that the strikes have been cancelled, “Qantas has still not been formally notified,” the airline said.