Cyclone prompts pilots to call off strike

More than 200 Network Aviation and QantasLink pilots were set to walk off the job on Thursday for four days over a long-running pay dispute.

But the strike was cancelled on Wednesday after the state's Minister for Industrial Relations Simone McGurk called the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and asked them to stay at work.

"Given the risk posed by ex-Tropical Cyclone Lincoln in northwest WA, the (federation) has suspended the protected industrial action planned for Thursday to Sunday to enable evacuation flights to potentially take place if needed," a union spokeswoman said.

Senior industrial officer Chris Aikens said the pilots did not want to place the public at risk and would continue flying.

"The (federation) will monitor the situation regarding any possible future action once the current threat has passed," he said.

Qantas Group said it would contact customers with flights booked for Thursday if they had been cancelled or rescheduled due to the strike.

It said there were no changes to the scheduled flights on Friday or the weekend.

Network Aviation pilots have already walked off the job over the wages battle three times in recent months.

The federation has accused Qantas Group of refusing to negotiate and taking previously agreed terms off the bargaining table.

It also said Network Aviation pilots were fed up with being treated as second-class citizens by Qantas Group and don't get the same pay conditions as other pilots employed by the airline despite doing the same job.

Qantas has denied the allegations and said it had not walked away and had been actively negotiating with the pilots' union for 18 months.

The airline said it had made three wage offers, including pay increases of more than 25 per cent, plus yearly three per cent increases, new allowances and greater roster protections.

It said the union supported two of the offers but they were voted down by the pilot group, and the parties were now at an impasse.

The union has rejected these assertions and said the 25 per cent offer was only made to some pilots who were being paid below the award rate, and the increases most pilots would receive under the proposed deals would not keep up with the inflation rate.

A six-day pilots' strike last week forced the airline to cancel and reschedule dozens of flights on Wednesday and Thursday, prompting mining companies to use other carriers and restrict travel for their workers.

Network Aviation pilots also walked off the job over pay negotiations for 24 hours in early October, causing more than 40 flights to and from regional towns and mine sites to be cancelled.

The airline has applied to the Fair Work Commission for a hearing to determine whether the parties have reached a stage where an outcome cannot be negotiated.

Network Aviation, which is wholly owned by Qantas, is WA's premier charter company for the mining industry and operates hundreds of flights a week.

Australian Associated Press