Travel disruptions on deck for Western Australia as pilots strike

Key PointsAustralian Federation of Air Pilots union members working for Network Aviation and QantasLink in WA are on strike.The pilots have been negotiating with Qantas Group for 18 months to replace a pay deal which expired in 2020.Further strike action on Saturday, Sunday and Monday will extend the rolling strikes to six consecutive days.

Regional travellers and mining operations in Western Australia are facing travel disruptions again as pilots for a Qantas subsidiary begin their third set of strikes.

Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) union members working for Network Aviation and QantasLink in Western Australia will strike from 12.01am Wednesday to Friday over stalled wage negotiations.

The latest action comes a week after pilots walked off the job for 24 hours on Thursday, sparking the cancellation of 35 Network Aviation flights.

It’s the third time regional passengers and workers have been impacted by the ongoing dispute after the pilots also previously took industrial action in October.

AFAP senior industrial officer Chris Aikens said pilots had felt they had no other option and were angered by Network Aviation walking away from negotiations.

Qantas Group said thousands of affected customers would be contacted and offered fee-free changes to their flights or they could request a refund.

It also warned there could be more issues on the weekend after the pilots union informed the company of further strike action on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, extending the rolling strikes to six consecutive days.

“Contingency plans for future strike action are being developed now,” Qantas said in a statement.

The strikes planned for the weekend will mainly impact Western Australians travelling to regional towns, including Geraldton, Broome and Kalgoorlie.

The pilots’ federation has been attempting to negotiate with Qantas Group for 18 months to replace a pay deal which expired in 2020.

Two-hour sign-ons, 6am starts, business class travel for pilots making their way to a job, better pay, increased overtime, 10 rostered days off and better rostering are the conditions the union is seeking from the company.

“We’ve been working to reach a new agreement for 18 months and want our pilots to start receiving pay increases of more than 25 per cent that we have offered,” Network Aviation chief operating officer Trevor Worgan said.

“We’ve been clear that we cannot offer more.”

Network Aviation, which is wholly owned by Qantas, is WA’s premier charter company for the mining industry and operates hundreds of flights a week.

It also employs local pilots for the carrier’s regional arm, QantasLink.

More than 90 per cent of its 250-plus pilots are members of the pilots federation.

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