Travelers Nightmare: Australia's Airport Employees Stage New Walkout-Protests
A separate but successive customs, quarantine, baggage handlers and ground staff strike is expected to cause havoc in major Australian airports for three days.
The industrial action would affect Melbourne-bound passengers who are headed for the AFL grand final and New Zealanders on their way to Sydney to watch the NRL grand final.
Baggage handlers and ground staff will hold a one-hour job walk-off on Friday at 8 a.m. in major Australian gateways. Customs and quarantine officers will strike at Sydney and Cairns Airports on Thursday and Saturday.
Two rolling strikes to last a total of four hours are scheduled at the Sydney International Airport on Thursday as customs and quarantine workers walk off the job over a pay dispute.
It was their second industrial action within one week. The first strike was made by customs and quarantine workers on Saturday, which disrupted operations in several Australian gateways.
The first work stoppage was from 6 to 9 a.m. and the second one is scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m.
Community and Public Sector Union spokeswoman Nadine Flood said the strike is their only way to get the federal government to listen to their argument that the 3 per cent yearly salary increase offer over three years would not match Australia's annual inflation rate.
"These staff really feel like they have no other option.... They have been trying for months and months to get their management to sit down and negotiate," Ms Flood told ABC Radio.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) warned that Qantas may lock them out ahead of the Friday strike as what the national flag carrier did last week.
"Qantas doubled the impact last time by locking out its own workforce... there is every possibility that they may well make that decision (again)," TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon told The Canberra Times.
Qantas, which denied it locked out the striking workers, said it will publish cancellations and flight delays on Friday and advised thousands of travelers to brace for flight disruptions and delays over the industrial action.
