Travellers in Australia have been warned prepare for potential ‘disruptions’ at airports across the country with over 1,000 workers set to strike.
The ground workers are expected to walk off the job on Friday as they stage four-hour stoppages connected to pay negotiations which have reach breaking point.
‘There will be disruptions today. You don’t take a thousand people out of ground services in Australia without there being disruptions,’ Transport Workers Union National Secretary Michael Kaine said.
‘These workers have been stuck in negotiations for a year and still they don’t have assurances about decent terms and conditions,’ he said.
Sydney Airport has advised passengers to check with their airline for any potential delays.
‘We are ready to support our airline partners in mitigating the impact on their operations and encourage passengers travelling today to stay alert for messages from their airline,’ a spokeswoman said.
The Brisbane and Melbourne Airports are also expected to be affected by the work stoppages.
The crew all work for dnata, which is a multinational airport services company providing ground handling, cargo, travel, and flight catering services across the globe.
The Transport Workers Union claims a decade of cost-cutting and dismantling of jobs by Qantas has left the sector low paid, highly casualised and unable to attract and maintain workers.
The union claims companies like Swissport are receiving work again but dnata has been left behind.
‘These workers are trying to rebuild aviation jobs that were destroyed under a decade of outsourcing to the lowest bidder under Alan Joyce,’ Mr Kaine said.
‘They deferred strike action over Christmas but after almost a year of negotiations they can’t wait any longer. Without this action now we’ll continue to see standards at our airports plummet.
‘Workers at dnata and across aviation are struggling with poor rostering, low guaranteed hours and the threat that their company will lose a contract to a lower bidder.
It’s become a revolving door because even if they manage to get workers in, they can’t retain them with the poor conditions.’
