Qantas and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) have reached a proposed agreement on terms and conditions covering around 1,600 maintenance engineers.

The proposal is intended to form part of a workplace determination that the parties will ask Fair Work Australia to make and would remain in force until December 31st 2014.

Qantas and the ALAEA have submitted this proposal to Fair Work Australia as a draft workplace determination for its consideration.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said Qantas was pleased an agreement had finally been reached and the airline had maintained the flexibility needed to operate competitively in the global aviation industry.

“After such a damaging industrial campaign, this is a positive outcome that will allow Qantas to move forward with certainty,” Joyce said.

“The proposal submitted to Fair Work Australia is a good deal for Qantas and its licenced engineers.

“However, it does not contain any of the restrictive demands that would have handed control of parts of the airline to the union.”

Details of the proposed three-year determination include a three per cent pay increase per annum, new licensing arrangements, changes which ease restrictions on extended hours rosters and arrangements for the transition to retirement for licenced engineers.

The dispute is one of three presently ongoing at Qantas, with pilots and baggage handlers also presently in negotiations.

Joyce took the unprecedented decision to ground the carrier earlier this year as a way of accelerating negotiations.