According to the Australian Federation of Pilots (AFAP), pilots at Qantas Airways‘ (QAN.AX) charter business, Network Aviation, will retreat from their scheduled strike this week.
In an attempt to bargain for pay, the AFAP announced on Friday that the pilots would not be working on Wednesday or Thursday. This would have interfered with charter operations for the nation’s resource industry.
On Tuesday, Qantas announced that it has put in place backup plans, such as utilizing planes from other airlines and the company as a whole, to replace any services that could have been affected. Many mining and energy businesses, including Network Aviation, staff their operations using a fly-in/fly-out approach instead of stationing workers permanently at remote sites.
The Fair Works Commission (FWC), Australia’s industrial relations tribunal, mediated the discussions between the parties on Monday.
Following the negotiations, the FWC announced that a Joint Consultative Committee had been formed to address issues related to the enterprise agreement’s implementation or other topics that the parties had decided upon.
Ninety percent of Network Aviation’s pilot group are AFAP members, and the union said that they will not take part in protected action until the conclusion of next week’s negotiation sessions.
Beginning on November 7, the union will participate in in-person negotiation sessions led by the FWC.
A few days before a meeting with the FWC, Qantas voiced unhappiness over the union’s decision to “cause disruption and uncertainty” by threatening to go on strike.
According to the flag carrier, Qantas will look at all possibilities to reach a deal that meets the interests of the company and benefits pilots.
Given the distance between the parties, the strike’s termination is unlikely to be the end of the tale, according to Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. As of 05:27 GMT, Qantas shares were up 3.5% to A$4.97, marking their highest level over four weeks.
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