SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Friday told airline Qantas and unions to sort out their problems as passengers faced another day of disruptions in a bitter industrial dispute.
The two sides have been embroiled in a standoff over pay and conditions for months, with strike action by baggage handlers and engineers escalating.
On Thursday, Qantas chief Alan Joyce said the carrier had been forced to ground five aircraft and axe nearly 100 weekly services for a month after go-slows and overtime bans by maintenance engineers.
"Qantas and the relevant unions say they want to negotiate this dispute, well I think they should get on and do it," Gillard said, warning the government could impose a resolution if the two sides failed to find one.
Canberra can intervene in industrial disputes in exceptional circumstances where the Australian economy or the welfare of its population is deemed to be under threat.
Another 7,000 passengers at airports around the country are set to have their travel plans disrupted Friday, with 17 Qantas flights cancelled and another 32 delayed as engineers walk off the job for four hours.
It follows 50 services being delayed or cancelled on Thursday when baggage handlers and ground crew stopped work.
"Well unfortunately it's getting worse, not better," admitted Qantas group executive Olivia Wirth.
"The reality is the ongoing industrial action by the engineers means we just simply don't have enough man hours to maintain our fleet."
Three different unions are locked in protracted contract talks with Qantas -- which reported an annual net profit of Aus$250 million (US$254.7 million) in August -- over pay and the airline's Asia-focused restructuring.
Tensions were also inflamed when it was announced Joyce's pay will be increased by 71 percent to Aus$5 million at a time when job cuts are being proposed and the company share price is languishing near all-time lows.
The Australian Shareholders' Association (ASA) said it was concerned the carrier's brand was being damaged and that the current low share price could make Qantas vulnerable to a private equity bid.
"This is clearly a concern for the Australian Shareholders Association and should be of concern for all Australians, that one of our national brands, our national carrier, has the potential to be taken from underneath our feet," the ASA's Vas Kolesnikoff told ABC radio.
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