More than 200 Network Aviation and QantasLink pilots in Western Australia from Thursday to Sunday.
However,the Australian Federation of Air Pilots has cancelled the strike after a request from state Industrial Relations Minister Simone McGurk over fears thousands of people may need to be evacuated from the Pilbara if the storm system gathers strength again.
“In light of this request from the state government,and with Network pilots clearly not wanting to place the public at any risk,the AFAP has just written to the company to confirm that the four-day stop work scheduled for 22 to 25 February will now NOT take place,” senior industrial officer Chris Aikens said.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services commissioner Darren Klemm said ex-Tropical Cyclone Lincoln,which formed near the Queensland/Northern Territory border five days ago,was expected to cross the coast near Carnarvon as a category 2 system on Saturday.
He warned travellers to avoid the upper Gascoyne and west Pilbara areas,with flooding likely to close the North West Coastal Highway at the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the system was expected to dump around 100 to 200 millimetres of ran over 24 hours,and bring destructive wind gusts of up to 150km/h.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued a blue alert warning for residents of the Pilbara and Gascoyne coasts on Wednesday morning,warning people to get ready for dangerous weather.
Additional crews will travel to the area on Thursday to support the local communities.
Network Aviation pilots service most of the state’s FIFO workforce and the strikes have caused havoc to resource project rostering.
The pilots have accused Qantas of refusing to negotiate and had taken previously agreed terms off the bargaining table.
Qantas has refuted the allegations and said it had not walked away and had been actively negotiating with the pilots’ union for 18 months.
“The AFAP will monitor the situation regarding any possible future action once the current threat has passed,” Aikens said.
“However,we remain open to meeting with the company in the hope that it can offer something that will be acceptable to this pilot group.”
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