Striking Pilots To Ignore Warning

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31230, 30 November 1966, Page 1

Striking Pilots To Ignore Warning

(New Zealand Press Association!

SYDNEY, November 29.

Striking Qantas pilots will ignore last night’s warning by the acting-Minister for Labour and Industry (Mr McMahon) and continue to refuse duty.

An official the Australian Federation of Air Pilots, which is controlling the strike, confirmed this today.

Mr McMahon warned the pilots that, unless they returned to work, they must “take the consequences."

But a meeting of nearly 400 Qantas pilots in Sydney later decided not to heed the threat.

“The pilots will not accept Mr McMahon’s warning,” the federation official said today. “The significant part of Mr McMahon’s statement is that Qantas would pay increased salaries in return for a tacit acceptance by pilots of all operational decisions made by Oantas and approved by the Director-General of Civil Aviation.

“Pilots will never trade money in return for their right to exercise their pre-

rogative on safety issues.” The official criticised Mr McMahon's interference, as Minister, in a dispute between an employer and employees. “It has always been accepted that the Department of Labour and National Service should not take sides either for or against an employer or group of employees.” he said. “Mr McMahon seems to have departed from this traditional position. His statement was intended as nothing more than a vilification of pilots.” The official said the federation had “no idea” what processes Mr McMahon had in mind if pilots refused to return to work.

He said real safety issues were at stake in the dispute, especially the question of hazardous night landings at Djakarta.