Vic: Qantas AIRC hearing continues

AAP General News (Australia)
12-09-2001
Vic: Qantas AIRC hearing continues

Despite calling a 24-hour respite from industrial action, unions have refused to guarantee
Qantas will be strike-free over Christmas.

Qantas and its maintenance workers have spent the day in the federal industrial court
for a rare Sunday hearing, designed to broker an agreement on their dispute.

Plans to freeze the wages of Qantas's maintenance engineers have been bitterly fought
by a campaign of work bans and rolling stoppages which began in June.

Australian Workers' Union national secretary BILL SHORTEN -- speaking before today's
talks -- says Qantas is not offering engineers a career path but is treating them no better
than McDonald's hamburger workers.

Qantas, the AWU and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union had called a 24-hour
truce to attend the Australian Industrial Relations Commission-mediated talks.

Mr SHORTEN says if Qantas does not make a better offer by the end of today, the union
cannot promise a strife-free lead-up to the Christmas break.

Qantas representatives at the talks have refused to comment.

AAP RTV ag/jtb

KEYWORD: QANTAS AIRC (MELBOURNE)

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