Qantas unions blamed mismanagement of the national air carrier for its $200 million loss for the second half of the financial year. The unions said Qantas should not blame the strikes, which Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce pinpointed as one of the reasons behind the red ink.

Joyce added that were it not for the ongoing arbitration by Fair Work Australia, Qantas would continue to lose $85 million a month because of work stoppages by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, Transport Workers Union and Australian International Pilots Association.

"The figures given by Qantas reveal serious mismanagement: the $70 million lost by shutting down the airline and $28 million on customer recovery initiatives," TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon said in a statement.

AIPA acting President Brad Hodson pointed out that there had been question marks over Qantas' books, including losses on its international operations. He said the bigger problem of Qantas is its damage to the brand caused by the company's obsession with offshoring and outsourcing.

Besides pay increases, the three unions are pushing for job security as Qantas considers putting up a regional hub in Kuala Lumpur that could mean loss of employment opportunities for Australians in favour of Asian workers.

Qantas pilot Eytan Herson, who spoke on Friday at an event hosted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions at the opening of the Labor Party national conference in Sydney, backed ACTU's launch of the Secure Jobs, Better Future campaign for the party to make it easier for unions to negotiate job security clauses on their contracts.

Herson said the threat of redundancy has been hanging over the heads of pilots the past three years, which could result in pilots being distracted from their tasks and passenger safety being placed at risk.

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