The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA) said that engineers would now be given periods in which to rest if they have been working through the night.

To make sure that Qantas engineers are at the forefront of aviation technology they will be allowed to attend professional development programs. Alison Rose, senior industrial officer at APESMA, said that Qantas and Jetstar engineers were in charge of making sure that the right decisions are made to ensure that aircraft in the fleet are airworthy and safe.

She added that the new enterprise deal followed months of work bans on Qantas engineers. Although the professional engineers are still a small section of the airline’s overall engineering work force, they are the ones in charge of signing of any major work done on aircraft before they are allowed to take to the skies.

Rose said in a statement that the agreement was great news for the engineers, and was an illustration of what can be achieved when workers stand together to make sure that the quality of their work is not be compromised. She added that the agreement was also good news for Qantas, because safety can now be maintained in an improved way, and maintenance issues could now be properly addressed by the airline.

A spokesperson for Qantas was quick to point out that professional engineers did not usually work over weekends or on bank holidays. The APESMA threat is therefore essentially a hollow one, according to the airline.

APESMA has been fighting with Qantas for some time now over engineers’ rights. They claim that its specialist senior professionals are replaced at night and at weekends by inexperienced staff who do not have the relevant experience to maintain the Qantas fleet. Qantas have of course denied the accusations, saying that all of their engineers are qualified and capable.

Alison Rose, senior industrial officer at APESMA, said that the union was very concerned that managers who came to replace specialist engineers at night did not know how to look after the A380s. She said that the new aircraft often had problems with things like inaccurate fuel gauges and that the part-time managers did not know how to spot potential problems.

APESMA has asked the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to investigate the matter. Qantas maintain that they are doing their best to come to a satisfactory deal with APESMA and its members. They also say that all of their aircraft are maintained to the highest standards.

APESMA is saying that the engineers used by Qantas after its members leave for the night are not qualified to properly inspect the aircraft and do not have the relevant experience with the particular types of plane they are inspecting. The concerns have been put in a letter John McCormick who heads the Civil Aviation Authority.

As an example of how Qantas has been putting passengers at risk, APESMA have used a Boeing 737 which the airline cleared to fly from Sydney to Canberra. It was then allowed to take a further return journey to Darwin, all the while flying with a cracked cockpit window.

Engineers estimate that by allowing the aircraft to fly, Qantas was putting the lives of around 400 passengers at risk because if the window had broken the cabin would have lost pressure. APESMA claims that this is just one example of risky engineering and inspection decisions that have been made.

Qantas has denied that they are cutting corners on safety, claiming that all of the engineers they employ to look after their fleet are qualified to do the job correctly. A spokeswoman for Qantas said that standards at the airline were all up to regulatory approval.

The national carrier is faced with a maintenance backlog after engineers said they could strike for up to five days at a time over working conditions.

The engineers said fatigue was a key issue for the strike and a call-out policy apparently requiring them to respond to critical and complex engineering issues with under five hours sleep between jobs.

The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA) has asked passengers to understand that the industrial action had been taken reluctantly and would inevitably have an impact on Qantas’ maintenance schedule.

Engineers at the airline’s heavy maintenance facilities in Sydney, Brisbane and Avalon, will stop work for periods of up to five business days.

Senior Industrial Officer for APESMA, Alison Rose, said engineers had been left with no choice but to ramp up industrial action.

She said meetings held with Qantas management since engineers first took industrial action in mid-November had been unsuccessful.

The airline is yet to respond to the industrial action, but said in November that contingency plans were in place to avoid any disruptions.