Key Takeaways
- Qantas workers began a 24-hour strike at Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth airports.
- The strike aims to secure higher pay, more secure jobs, and improved safety standards.
- The union claims Qantas’s fragmented workforce structure has weakened safety standards.
Qantas ground workers have launched a 24-hour strike at four major Australian airports, including Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, in a bid to secure better pay and working conditions.
The industrial action, initiated by the Australia’s Transport Worker’s Union (TWU), involves workers from Qantas Ground Services (QGS), Australian air Express (AAE) freight operations, and regional carrier QantasLink.
The union is demanding pay increases in line with industry standards, more full-time positions, and the integration of work groups under a single Qantas structure.
In Sydney, the workers will be joined by up to 400 safety screeners conducting two sets of two-hour stoppages, with a further three-hour stoppage planned for September 28.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine stated, 'Strike action is always a last resort, but we are literally seeing workers maimed and killed keeping these critical services going.'
The union criticizes Qantas for its fragmented workforce structure, arguing that it has weakened safety standards.
Qantas outsourced the jobs of more than 1,800 ground workers in Australia who handled its broader network during the COVID-19 pandemic, an action later deemed illegal.
A court ordered the airline to pay a record fine of A$90 million ($64.03 million) over the matter, highlighting the severity of the union’s concerns.
Qantas did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Strike action is always a last resort, but we are literally seeing workers maimed and killed keeping these critical services going.
Michael Kaine, TWU National Secretary
