23 Jan 2012

Qantas and aircraft engineers reach agreement

9:10 pm on 23 January 2012

Qantas says it has reached an agreement with aircraft maintenance engineers that will run until the end of 2014.

The workplace relations tribunal Fair Work Australia endorsed the proposals that had been put to it by Qantas and the Aircraft Engineers' Association in December.

Under the agreement, around 1600 engineers will receive a 3% pay rise over the period and there will be changes in the rostering of extended hours, new licensing agreement and new retirement arrangements.

The ABC notes that the Fair Work Australia endorsement marks the end of one of three arbitration battles Qantas is waging with unions amid a long-running industrial relations dispute.

The airline is still in arbitration with members of the Australian and International Pilots Association and the Transport Workers' Union.

The sides were ordered into binding arbitration in November after they failed to resolve their disputes within the timeframe set by Fair Work Australia.

In October, Qantas grounded its entire fleet for 48 hours in response to unions' industrial action, leaving at least 68,000 passengers stranded worldwide.