Qantas Airways Faces Nationwide Engineers Strike Over Pay

Australia's Qantas Airways is dealing with a rolling strike by aircraft maintenance engineers across the country, demanding a 5% annual pay rise and a 15% first-year payment. Qantas assures no flight disruptions but works on a sustainable agreement. The airline is under scrutiny for handling travel bookings and employee treatment.

Qantas Airways, Australia's national carrier, announced that rolling strikes by aircraft maintenance engineers in Melbourne since Thursday are poised to continue nationwide for two weeks without disrupting flights. The airline has put contingencies in place to ensure customer service remains unaffected.

The Qantas Engineers' Alliance, constituting various unions, demands a 5% annual pay hike coupled with a 15% first-year compensation to offset 3.5 years of stagnant wages. Although anticipating significant impacts across all major airports, the alliance did not comment further on the situation.

Qantas has been striving to repair its public image after multiple controversies during and post-COVID-19 regarding bookings and employee relations. Around 1,100 of the 2,500 engineers are currently negotiating agreements that expired in June 2024. The airline, which reported a 16% decline in annual underlying pre-tax profit to A$2.08 billion, aims to finalize a sustainable pay agreement soon.

(With inputs from agencies.)