FED: 24-hour Qantas strike underway

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FED: 24-hour Qantas strike underway

MELBOURNE, Aug 19 AAP - A 24-hour strike by 6,000 Qantas workers is under way withthe union claiming 169 flights around the the country have been cancelled.

The walkout over a long-running dispute over wages and conditions is the second strikeby Australian Services Union (ASU) workers this month.

The exact number of flights cancelled is a matter of dispute, with the ASU claiming169 and Qantas refusing to name a precise figure.

ASU Victorian preceding Martin Foley said today the cancellations of flights and reschedulinghas dramatically reduced the number of passengers flying today.

"Queues should be minimised because basically, there are not many people flying today,"

he told AAP.

Mr Foley said nearly half the flights out of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane had been cancelled.

Qantas has urged domestic passengers to arrive 90 minutes earlier and internationalpassengers up to three hours before departure.

Qantas yesterday said all travellers with a booking would be flown to their destination today.

No international flights and no Qantaslink flights to regional Australia, Hobart orCanberra had been cancelled, company spokesman Michael Sharp said.

Management will today take the place of check-in and telephone sales, freight, informationtechnology, load control, catering, operations, administration and finance, engineeringand maintenance staff.

Striking staff will rally at Queens Park, Moonee Ponds, at noon to be addressed byASU assistant national secretary Linda White and ACTU secretary Greg Combet.

The union wants a 5 per cent annual pay increase for two years, backdated to July 1,and a guarantee in-house services will not be contracted out.

AAP svm/rs

KEYWORD: QANTAS 2ND DAYLEAD