21-Day Qantas Conciliation Process Ends Midnight, TWU Threatens Strike

As the 21-day conciliation process for Qantas and the unions ends on Monday midnight, another strike looms for the troubled Australian air carrier. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) threatened to pursue another round of industrial action unless the company improves its offer.

Besides the TWU, Qantas is scheduled to meet with the aircraft engineers and pilots union on Monday in a last-minute bid to resolve the labor row, which forced the Labor government to have the matter settled by Fair Work Australia (FWA).

However, TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon said that Qantas has not made a new offer, but instead placed on the negotiating table a five-month-old offer. Reports said that the pilots union is also pessimistic of striking a new deal with Qantas.

Qantas, however, insists it wants to reach a deal with the three unions.

"We're very much committed to these negotiations and we hope that we can come to a settlement," Qantas group executive Olivia Wirth said in a statement. She aired a similar commitment made last week by Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce, but Mr Sheldon is not convinced.

"He's obviously either not reading the tea leaves or he's being lied to by his own management or he's telling the Australian public just another porky pie," Mr Sheldon said.

Mr Sheldon said that TWU is agreeable to another 21-day extension of the conciliation process, but claimed Qantas has not indicated that it wants to extend the process. If Qantas would not agree to an extension, FWA will arbitrate the labor row.

Another round of strike would further harm Qantas's damaged brand and affect Christmas travel plans of Australians. As it is, the job walk offs the past few weeks had caused a significant drop in domestic passenger traffic at Australia's two busiest gateways.

The Sydney Airport logged at 5.8 per cent drop in domestic passengers in October, while Melbourne reported a 6 per cent decline. As a result, Qantas's overall passengers dipped 3.2 per cent to 3.1 million in Sydney and by 3 percent to 2.4 million in Melbourne for the same month. International passengers, though, continued to increase at both gateways.