Qantas Airways
QANTAS is under pressure to continue performing 90 per cent of its heavy aircraft maintenance in Australia, amid fears the company will send work offshore.
An alliance of three unions will today call for the airline to save jobs and keep its first-class safety record by servicing its aircraft here.
The Australian Workers Union, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Electrical Trades Union will also urge State and Federal Governments to step in to protect jobs, as the manufacturing industry continues to decline.
It comes as Qantas reviews its heavy maintenance operations, with the 400-strong workforce at its Tullamarine operations likely to be a casualty as the airline cuts costs.
The unions will today release a blueprint detailing how Australia could become a maintenance hub not just for Qantas, but other major world airlines.
AMWU national assistant secretary Glenn Thompson said Qantas needed to continue to maintain its aircraft in Australia, securing the future of 6000 engineering workers.
“Qantas’ safety record comes down to its highly qualified and highly skilled workers,” he said.
The unions want Qantas’ new Dreamliner 787, Boeing 737s and A380s, which will be delivered over the next decade, to be serviced in Australia.
Qantas is reviewing its Avalon, Tullamarine and Brisbane heavy maintenance facilities, with one or two bases to be cut.
The airline will make its decision by April 16.
Federal Employment Minister Bill Shorten said that Australians expected an Australian airline to keep jobs here in Australia.
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