Australian Senator Nick Xenophon pushed for an amendment of the Qantas Sale Act to prevent a repeat of the unilateral grounding of Qantas planes which stranded about 70,000 passengers.

"Never again can a fleet of the nation's flag carrier be grounded on the say of one person.... This was about an industrial dispute and that is something that needs to change," Mr Xenophon said in a statement.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce took responsibility on Friday in a Senate hearing for the decision to ground the company's jets even if the board recommended the same measure. Mr Joyce, however, said the final decision was on him.

He justified the decision to the rolling work stoppages made by three Qantas unions.

Although a repeat of the grounding is no longer possible because the labor row is now under the jurisdiction of Fair Work Australia (FWA), there is continued conflict between some of the unions and Qantas.

The Australia Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) charged Qantas with attempting to displace 128 engineers tasked with safety checks on each flight. ALEAE Secretary Steve Purvinas warned of the risk to passenger safety of plans by Qantas to retain only 20 engineers to perform the safety checks every flight.

"Quite frankly, we're sick of Qantas and their HR managers telling us about safety and aircraft engineering.... They don't now the difference between a wing and a wing nut," The Australian quoted Mr Purvinas.

Negotiations between ALAEA and Qantas are ongoing before FWA in Sydney. Mr Purvinas said previous talks on pay had been settled, with Monday's negotiation focusing on job losses.

However, a Qantas spokesman said there is no agreement yet on pay with ALEAE since all matters on the issue are still on the negotiating table.

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