AIRLINE PILOTS TO STRIKE

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30364, 13 February 1964, Page 13

AIRLINE PILOTS TO STRIKE

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) SYDNEY, Feb. 12.

Pilots of Qantas, Australia’s ■ international airline, were directed today to strike from midnight on Thursday. Mr B. I. Crofts, manager of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots, announced that the strike follows a breakdown of negotiations between the' federation and Qantas. About 300 pilots will be involved, half of them at overseas cities.

Qantas aircraft in the air at midnight will terminate their flights at the first scheduled stop after that time. The duration of the strike will be discussed at a pilots’

meeting in Sydney on Friday. Mr Crofts said the main issues over which the negotiations had broken down were:— Regulation of duty time. Limitation of the number of days away from homebase. Entitlement to duty-free time at home-base on return from international flights. Mr Crofts said the Qantas limitations had not changed since the days of pistonengined aircraft several years ago. With fast jets, a pilot now performed in six months the work he did in a full year on piston-engined planes.

“There are twice as many international trips for each pilot a year,” Mr Crofts said. He said among cities where the striking Qantas pilots would be were London, San Francisco, Rome, Honolulu, Hong Kong, Singapore, and possibly, in New Zealand and Mauritius. The pilots former contract with Qantas expired last June.

“Pilots are now working under much greater pressure and strain than were experienced in the pistonengine era of flying and recognition of the fatigueinducing characteristics of jet flying is something which the company is apparently not prepared to recognise,” Mr Crofts said.