Ground handlers set to strike on Sept 12 at some major Australian airports

Source: The Straits Times
Date: 5th September 2022

Australia’s major airports are likely to face disruptions on Sept 12 as hundreds of workers from major service providers are expected to strike for better payment and working conditions.

The country’s major transport union, Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU), said in a statement on Sunday that hundreds of ground handlers will hold a 24-hour strike on Sept 12, while providers in the states of New South Wales and Victoria will apply to the Fair Work Commission to hold a protected action ballot.

Protected action ballots are secret ballots that give employees the chance to vote on whether or not they want to initiate protected industrial action.

“Workers at both companies are pushing for viable jobs and greater financial security, including more guaranteed hours for part-time workers and fair pay increases in their enterprise agreements,” said the statement.

TWU National Secretary said it is disappointing and distressing for ground handling workers to have their wages and conditions threatened at a time when pressure is through the roof.

“Ground workers are forced to pursue strike action for the first time because they can’t afford to stay in this industry if the extreme downward spiral of wages and conditions continues.”

Workers have voted in favour of strikes on Sept 2 which will see around 350 workers participating in the strikes across airports in Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide.

TWU said the industrial action will primarily impact the international operations of Australia’s largest airlines, Qantas, with knock-on effects to domestic travel.

Qantas cut its own ground workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and outsourced the service to other companies.

Qantas management’s strategy to dictate low wages and conditions from afar has turned aviation careers into insecure jobs no one can afford to stay in.

“We need to rebalance aviation towards good, secure jobs that keep skilled workers in the industry and ensure the safety of the travelling public.”

NEOLink cooperated with our order processing system. He did not replace it or force solutions. Logfret did it better than other companies on the market – it adapted its system to ours. Logfret didn’t come to us saying, “We have this solution, and you either use it or we won’t cooperate.

Procurement Director

Pumps Manufacturer

We made a huge improvement in global visibility with a global platform—anyone can log into NEOLink and look at a shipment anytime, anywhere in the world. We wanted a freight forwarder with a good technology platform, which could handle the complexities of our business and we found NEOLink!

A global leader in performance materials and specialty chemicals

My suppliers have less or zero experience with international logistics. Thus, not able to create proper documentation which leads to tremendous delay. Thanks to Logfret who provide training to all suppliers and work with us to build up a consolidation hub to reduce transportation costs significantly.

One of the world’s leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of ride control products