A national delegation of union officials met with Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday morning to ask why the government refuses to stand up for Qantas jobs in Australia.
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The delegation of aviation and manufacturing unions, led by ACTU secretary David Oliver, met with the PM around 10am and urged him to reconsider changes to the Qantas Sale Act.
Union representatives will also meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Warren Truss at 3.30pm and have meetings scheduled with Greens MP Adam Bandt and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
Transport Workers Union ACT secretary Klaus Pinkas said his union, which represents "below-the-wing" workers at Canberra airport, would cooperate with the ACTU led campaign and express frustrations with Qantas management.
"We've joined the campaign to urge the Prime Minister to force Alan Joyce to reveal his plans for Qantas workers," he said.
Mr Pinkas said voluntary redundancies in "below-the-wing" roles at Canberra Airport limited the company's ability to cut jobs but expressed concerns Qantas employees elsewhere in the airport might be affected.
“I suspect that if you are a mid-level or even a senior-level manager with Qantas anywhere in Australia you would be very nervous,” he said.
Mr Oliver said the coordinated visit would see "workers from all around the country present today, from every capital city and even some regional centres".
"We're just going to ask why the government isn't standing up for Australian jobs," he said.
Mr Pinkas said his union's message to the government is clear and represents the union delegation as a whole.
"What we're be saying to politicians today is all Qantas management have done is announce 5000 job losses. They haven't even bothered to come down and talk to us about alternative ways to save money within the company."
"We're always happy to talk about these things but that simply hasn't happened."
A Qantas spokeswoman said the company "have been meeting with the ACTU and aviation unions on a regular basis to discuss changes relevant to their workers".
Greens MP Adam Bandt said his meeting with union representatives later today was "a routine meeting of stakeholders".
"Not only has Alan Joyce been forced to explain his plans for the airline but we've also seen some serious issues about safety and maintenance raised," he said.
At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday night Qantas chief Alan Joyce said unions were engaging in "blatant scaremongering" by claiming that overseas ownership may lead to a drop in safety standards.
"It is playing the safety card as a tool of industrial relations,'' he said.
A Qantas spokeswoman affirmed their desire to amend the Sale Act on Thursday morning.
"This is about ensuring Qantas can compete on a level playing field. The Qantas Sale Act puts restrictions on Qantas which do not apply to our competitors and restricts our flexibility to manage our business," said the spokeswoman.
