ABC news online
Fri, Feb 21 2003 9:08 PM AEDT
Union condemns Qantas's contract labour plan
The Flight Attendants Association has condemned a plan by Qantas to circumvent a strike by its members next Tuesday by using contract labour.
It is expected up to 30 flights scheduled to leave Australia will be affected when around 2,000 Qantas international cabin crew stop work for 14 hours over a pay dispute.
Flight Attendants Association spokeswoman Johanna Brem says she is concerned management is attempting to replace the crew with inexperienced labour that has not undergone proper emergency procedures training and security checks.
"Cabin crew are safety professionals - they have very extensive training and experience and we are concerned that if Qantas fast tracks the whole training, that people are actually not, possibly not adequately prepared and adequately trained," Ms Brem said.
"If you are a passenger flying on Tuesday, well, you have to ask yourself one question: do you feel lucky?"
Meanwhile, Qantas would not respond in detail to the allegations except to say the airline will be using professional Qantas-trained cabin crew to cover striking workers.
An airline spokeswoman says all the regulatory requirements would be met and contingency plans were still being finalised.