Qantas Pilots’ Strike Begins

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30365, 14 February 1964, Page 12

Qantas Pilots’ Strike Begins

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter— Copyright) MELBOURNE, February 13._ The Australian Federation of Air Pilots tonight notified Qantas that their strike would commence at midnight.

The company had earlier threatened that unless Qantas pilots withdrew their threat to strike it would seek to have a “no-strike” clause inserted in the men’s industrial agreement.

The Commonwealth Arbitration Commissioner, Mr J. H. Port us. appealed to the pilots to call off the strike ant - submit their claims to him for arbitration. About 328 plots are in-volved-half of them in Sydney and the rest over--seas. Pilots emphasised that the dispute had nothing whatever to do with salary claims. The pilots were asking for more leisure time to counteract the much greater strain of jet flying compared wth flying pistonengined aircraft. They were asking for three instead of two days off in a five-day working week worked under normal conditions, and for more than three days off should the workload go beyond normal hours.

They said that a Qantas pilot flying the Pacific between Sydney and San Francisco . in Super Constellations made an average of about 15 return trips a year. Flying jets the same pilot made from 26 to 28 return tfips a year which meant

virtually condensing two years’ work into one. The jets, twice as fast as the Super Constellations, had alo doubled use of aircraft.

A federation spokesman said that should the strike be protracted, members would return to Australia by other airlines and Qantas aircraft would remain at their last port of call. Effect on N.Z. At least 15 of the 38 weekly return flights between Australia and New Zealand may be affected by the strike. This represents a potential weekly loss of more than 1000 seats each way across the Tasman. In addition, two of the six weekly services between Auckland and Fiji could go, and Tasman Empire Airways’ thrice-fortnigtitly AucklandNorfolk Island service would have to be cancelled. It is operated by a Qantas DC4 under charter to T.E.A.L. Christchurch Loss Wellington would lose four of its nine weekly return flights to Sydney, Auckland would lose four of 15, and Christchurch three of six. Both Wellington and Auckland would lose their weekly return services to Brisbane. Auckland and Christchurch would each lose one of their weekly return flights to Melbourne.