Boeing Fails To Answer Union Concerns

AWU National Secretary Bill Shorten said while Boeing had attempted to rubbish the AWU's concerns, it had failed to explain why the jet had been 'mothballed'.

"If RAAF FA18 plane number A21-109 hasn't been damaged, why has it been moved from priority one on Boeing's Williamtown maintenance schedule to the very bottom?" Mr Shorten said.

Mr Shorten said troubling information about aircraft A21-109 - one of 18 dual seat FA18s used for training - had been conveyed to 29 technicians trained to maintain the FA18 jets at the RAAF's Williamtown base, near Newcastle.

The technicians have been locked in an industrial dispute with Boeing for 95 days because of the company's refusal to negotiate a collective agreement.

"We understand that aircraft A21-109 may have been damaged in the past fortnight when maintenance work was being carried out by inexperienced workers," Mr Shorten said.

"Our information is that the damage occurred near the floor of the fuel tank, when a former (a structural component that holds together 'the skins') was being installed. During the installation, the former was gouged and cracked and a skin was knocked in.

"We understand that an engineering report about the incident was raised and accepted by Boeing engineers. It would have then been mandatory for Boeing to inform the RAAF about the aircraft's condition."

Mr Shorten said he had been advised new components would need to be specially constructed to fix the fundamental fault.

"We understand that A21-109 is parked inside the hanger, and that it will take a minimum of six months and up to 12 months before it will be back in action."

Mr Shorten said it was incumbent upon Boeing, as a client of the Australian Government, to be honest with the Australian public and explain the fate of A21-109.

"Our members want to go back to work - they want to use their skills to maintain the FA18s, which are an important component of our defence force," Mr Shorten said.

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