Pilot strike planned as support fund kicks in

Union members working as pilots at Qantas subsidiary Network Aviation will strike for two more days from tomorrow, with a fund now being drawn down to support those taking action.

Strikes are planned for March 14 and 15, latest action taken as part of ongoing negotiations between the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and Qantas management over a new enterprise agreement.

The strikes will coincide with a hearing scheduled with the Fair Work Commission in Perth, which will determine whether bargaining between the two parties has become intractable.

If bargaining is found to be intractable, Fair Work will intervene.

In the meantime, pilots have committed to strike in their quest for a 25 per cent pay increase which the union said would bring it in line with other pilot staff in the Qantas group.

Some striking pilots are now receiving the support of a fund raised in support of the strike, which has garnered more than $68,000 worth of funds from 459 donations over three weeks.

An update to the pilots’ Go Fund Me page today revealed $9,500 worth of support payments had been drawn down to compensate 11 pilots taking part in the action.

A further $7,000 is planned for distribution to seven pilots and 21 more applications for a share in $18,000 worth of compensation, according to the fund’s organisers.

Pilots for the airline, which services intrastate routes to resources projects and also runs flights for Qantas Link and Qantas, have been striking off and on since the beginning of February.

A lack of notice from the union to the airline disrupted strike plans early in March, while strike action was paused at the request of the WA government late in February over concerns for safety as a cyclone brewed off the state’s coast.

Another tropical cyclone is expected off the Pilbara coast this weekend, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and expected to reach category two strength on Sunday.

At this stage the cyclone is expected to remain offshore, and no indication has been given by the union that its strike plans will change.

Negotiations between the two parties have been ongoing for more than 18 months, and more than 90 per cent of Network’s 250 pilot staff are part of the union.

A survey of Network Aviation's AFAP-affiliated pilots late last month found more than 75 per cent did not have confidence in the Qantas chief pilot. 

Qantas has previously chartered aircraft from other airlines, as well as using Boeing 737s, to help mitigate the impact of strikes on its customers.