Prime Minister Tony Abbott will meet with Australia's peak union body for the first time since the government announced it would seek to abolish sections of the Qantas Sale Act.
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ACTU chief Dave Oliver, a delegation of union officials from the transport, services and manufacturing unions, and a group of Qantas workers will meet Mr Abbott on Thursday to discuss their concerns about the changes.
Mr Abbott is expected to listen to their concerns and reassure them that any change to the foreign ownership arrangements at the airline would not affect safety.
Separate meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Warren Truss, Labor leader Bill Shorten and a range of other MPs will also take place as the ACTU steps up its campaign to protect Australian jobs at the airline.
Mr Truss said the government wanted to pass changes to the Sale Act, which prevents a single entity from owning more than 25 per cent of the airline, limits foreign airline ownership to 35 per cent and mandates maintenance be performed in Australia, as soon as possible so Qantas could plan for its future "and get on with the business of making sure it can operate as an efficient and profitable airline".
"We haven't made a firm decision to bring it to the Senate next Thursday but clearly we would like it resolved as soon as possible,'' he said.
The Coalition's plan to abolish the Qantas Sale Act has been stalled by a pair of Senate inquiries and the legislation in its current form is likely to be blocked in the Senate by Labor and the Green.
Mr Truss's comments came as former Qantas chief Geoff Dixon broke his near two year silence about the beleaguered national carrier to call for the complete abolition of the Qantas Sale Act and throw support to his successor Alan Joyce.
Mr Dixon had a high profile falling out with Mr Joyce in late 2012 over the airline's strategic direction and a push by a group of investors, including Mr Dixon, to take over the airline.
Speaking at a tourism forum in Canberra on Wednesday, Mr Dixon said Mr Joyce and the airline's board should be "given the chance to get on with the job".
"I personally think that the Qantas Sale Act should be abandoned totally, always have. I said it for eight years when I was running the company and I agree with exactly what Alan and the board are saying at the moment," he said.
And in a pointed barb directed at the union movement, Mr Dixon added that industrial relations had "always been a problem".
Separately, Mr Oliver wrote to Mr Joyce again on Wednesday seeking more details about the airline's plan to cut 5000 jobs.
