Resources, Energy and Tourism Minister and former ACTU boss Martin Ferguson has slammed comments made by Steve Purvinas, the federal secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA), as 'un-Australian'.
Two days ago, Mr Purvinas said: "If I was a person considering travel over the period up until Christmas I'd probably be looking at airlines other than Qantas. If I was a passenger I wouldn't be purchasing a ticket with them at this stage."
The ALAEA is just one of a number of unions either striking, or threatening strike action in an attempt to secure jobs.
"I regard the comments like the ones from Mr Purvinas as un-Australian, and a sad reflection of his leadership of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers," he told SBS.
“You can have a dispute with employers, but there is a responsibility on trade union leaders to never set out to damage any Australian industry, not only Qantas, but in doing so, many struggling small and medium-size Australian businesses, who are doing it extremely tough, with a strong Australian dollar".
Qantas is one of Australia's largest companies, with 35,000 employees.
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