Qantas Accused Of Provoking Strike

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31235, 6 December 1966, Page 20

Qantas Accused Of Provoking Strike

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) SYDNEY, December 5. The Australian Federation of Air Pilots today accused Qantas and the Federal Government of deliberately provoking the airline strike, now in its eleventh day.

A statement by the federation declared: “Detailed plans were made by the company months ago to provoke the pilots into direct action by any means available. “The idea behind these i plans was to create an excuse | for the Government to bring! down restrictive arbitration legislation against pilots.” The statement said that this was proved by statements by the Acting Minister for Labour, Mr William McMahon, that amendments had already been drafted. The amendments, the federation said, were aimed at bringing pilots within the arbitration system. This would, the pilots considered, effectively silence them for all time in their industrial relationships and negotiations on operational issues. Five Reasons The federation said Qantas had sought greater control for the following five reasons:— Pilots’ insistence on maintaining safety practices which could inhibit the company’s commercial expansion; Qantas captains would be on a salary level commensurate with top executives of

the company, if it; allowed salaries to be brought into line with domestic airlines; Agreement to apply a contract like the internal airlines’ one would have upset the Qantas management, which was loth to relinquish management prerogative: The company had tried to have the procedures introduced by Sir Henry Bland under the auspices of the Labour and National Service Department abandoned; and It was now realised that Qan tas executives were completely unauthorised to manage or negotiate and, consequently, all matters

had to reach board level for decision. The federation said the elaborate plan to exercise total control over pilots had misfired. This was due to at least three factors: A well-founded fear that all internal pilots may stop, in sympathy, if severe action were taken against Qantas pilots; An equally well-founded fear that the international federation may declare Australia “black;” and, The fact that unless the present pilot group were persuaded to return to work, Qantas would be in the hopeless position of never being able to hire a pilot staff from anywhere.