Image: Workers from Qantas Engineers’ Alliance made up of members from the AMWU, the AWU, and the ETU walked off the job at Melbourne on September 26, 2024. Image: AMWU/ Facebook
Fears that travel to Melbourne ahead of the AFL Grand Final weekend could be thrown into disarray after Qantas workers kicked off their industrial action on Thursday over a pay dispute, walking off the job at Melbourne Airport.
Sydney Swans will take on Brisbane Lions on Saturday at the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne, with thousands of fans expected to travel to the city this weekend.
Experts say travellers can expect travel chaos following Qantas flight disruptions. “Although Qantas will likely protect flights associated with the AFL Grand Final, there may be cancellations to other routes. Given we are halfway through school holidays and approaching a long weekend in Victoria, any disruption is going to be difficult to recover from,” Justin Brownjohn, Operations Manager at the RMIT Aviation Academy and a former network controller for major airlines, said in a statement.
Passengers Face Limited Options
Brownjohn said affected passengers might have limited options, with tight flight schedules ahead of the sporting event.
“If a flight is cancelled, passengers will likely be moved to remaining available seats that same day. That could mean a lengthy delay if you don’t hold status with your carrier or if you bought a low-cost budget airline fare, which won’t be prioritised for another service,” said Brownjohn.
“If Qantas experiences disruptions, it is unlikely that flights will be increased at Virgin or Jetstar because their available capacity would already have been deployed. No one likes flight disruptions, and communications may not flow as quickly to passengers as they would like. But passengers need to be patient and reasonable with staff,” added Brownjohn.
Engineers Treated Like ‘Garbage’
The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance – comprising the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), Australian Workers’ Union (AWU), and Electrical Trades Union (ETU), has made a wage claim of five percent per year, and “a 15 percent first-year payment to make up for 3.5 years of wage freezes.”
Steve Murphy, AMWU National Secretary said that “nothing has changed at Qantas”.
“Qantas workers feel undervalued, underpaid, and underappreciated. If you’ve had a bad Qantas experience, well that’s nothing compared to how Qantas makes their workers feel every day. Our highly skilled members deserve fair wages for the incredible work they do to keep us all safe in the air,” said Murphy.
According to Paul Farrow, AWU National Secretary, the Union’s “hand has been forced because Qantas management is refusing to countenance a fair deal.”
“You can’t expect to announce billions in profits and executive bonuses and simultaneously tell the engineers who keep your planes safe to take less and less home to their families. At some point people are going to say enough,” said Farrow.
Michael Wright, ETU National Secretary accused the airline of treating its engineers like “garbage”.
“Already we are seeing Qantas having to offshore maintenance because they can’t retain enough quality engineers in Australia. And we know Qantas has been struggling to attract new skilled engineers who are flocking to other employers,” said Wright.
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