Qantas talks with pilots end

Negotiations between the Australian pilots' union and Qantas management have concluded.

Travel Insurance News - 21/11/2011

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The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) has said that Qantas officials have rejected its request for a three-week extension to current talks just ahead of the deadline for an agreement midnight tonight. But Qantas denies the claims and has said that the union failed to come to its own conclusions.

Anil Lambert said on behalf of the AIPA that the union felt that the two sides could still reach an agreement but needed the 21-day extension to do so. However, a Qantas spokesman said that binding arbitration would now come into play and said the airline had not terminated negotiations.

Now both sides must accept a settlement outlined in government and independent action amid the bitter dispute, which unions fear will favour the airline.

Meanwhile, talks continue with the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) as well as the Transport Workers Union (TWU) ahead of tonight’s midnight deadline for the bitter standoff in which unions say the airline is set to move thousands of Australian jobs to Asia.

But Tony Sheldon, national secretary for the TWU, said there wasn’t much hope for the talks but added his group would also be requesting a 21-day extension.

The news comes after months of industrial action caused extensive delays and led to an unprecedented worldwide grounding of the entire Qantas fleet by chief executive Alan Joyce, which prompted the government to call for an agreement and interaction from an independent tribunal.

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