Airport ground crew 'too much' threatens strike

Long queues, flight cancellations and baggage delays at Australia’s main airports could worsen, with “chronically overworked” ground crew threatening to go on strike because of pay and working conditions.

Key points:

• The company supplies ground handling aircraft for up to 20 airlines including Qantas
• The strike is likely to impact thousands of travelers at Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne international airports
• Ground crews have warned of chronic staff shortages, airport chaos and safety incidents

The Transportation Workers’ Union (TWU) said about 700 baggage and ramp operations staff at global airline, Dnata, would apply to the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday to hold a vote on industry action.

TWU claims the company is seeking to push through a new “unpleasant” employment agreement that “provides pay cuts to experienced workers and under minimum reward conditions”.

Filing an application means staff will be protected under the Fair Work Act if they choose to support industry action, which could potentially impact thousands of travelers at Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne international airports.

Owned by Dubai-based airline Emirates, Dnata supplies ground handling, cargo and flight catering services for up to 20 airlines, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Air Canada.

Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David said the potential strike would “impact everyone” at the international airport.

“It’s terrible that the union takes whatever action they propose [as] it could have a further impact on the traveling public,” David told Channel Nine.

“If the unions are going to take this action through Dnata, then it will impact all of those airlines and it will impact everyone at our international airport.”

In August 2020, Qantas announced it would outsource its ground handling operations at 10 Australian airports to third party contractors, including Dnata, and as a result, more than 1,600 employees lost their jobs.

The airline said the move was a necessary response to the “unprecedented impact of the COVID crisis” and would help lower costs.

COVID-19 has been causing problems at airports for months.(ABC News: Team Swanston)

TWU launched a Federal Court case against Qantas challenging the outsourcing of ground crew work and last year, in one of the largest recovery cases ever heard, found the airline’s ruling illegal and in violation of the Fair Work Act.

Qantas appealed the decision but the Full Federal Court rejected the airline’s attempts to overturn the decision earlier this year.

The company now plans to appeal the landmark case to the High Court.

Ground crew warns of ‘chronic staff shortage’

TWU said ground crews warned Dnata that “chronic staff shortages, airport chaos and safety incidents” would get worse if the company didn’t offer safer jobs at higher rates.

It said there had been “several safety incidents” in the vicinity of Qantas aircraft recently, including “a loader belt crashing into the aircraft, lock pins being left on the landing gear and incorrect weight information being given to pilots prior to takeoff.”

A Qantas spokesman told the ABC the airline “absolutely rejects” the safety allegations.

“TWU has tried to discredit the safety of outsourced ground handling, despite data showing a lower incidence rate than when this work is done in-house,” the spokesperson said.

“This kind of behavior is hypocritical and undermines the strong safety culture that exists across Australian aviation.”

The company is also running basic work for Qantas after laying off some of its workforce due to the pandemic.(ABC News: Giulio Saggin)

TWU assistant national secretary Nick McIntosh said while a strike was a “last resort”, workers had no other choice.

“The last thing they want to do after two years of hell for them.. is take this kind of industrial action but given everything on the table right now…that doesn’t create secure jobs, they feel they don’t have much choice.

“We must remember that this group did not receive any Jobkeeper payments due to an oddity introduced by the recent federal government.

“The main hope is that Dnata’s management will come to their senses … and provide an offer out there that at least meets the cost of living and that starts to get down to the path of creating safer jobs.”

Mr McIntosh said TWU was calling for an independent court to examine structural issues in the aviation sector.

“The aviation sector has been in crisis for years … over the last 15 years, we’ve seen wages and conditions drop in real terms by between 10 and 15 percent than where they are,” McIntosh said.

“We need the federal government to step in and say ‘enough is enough’ to restore order.”

Huge queues were seen outside Sydney airport on Monday caused by fog.(Instagram: @drewboyweston)

A spokesman for Dnata Airport Operations said it was committed to ensuring its employees were “properly compensated”.

“We remain committed to … continuing our conversations with TWU and employees in good faith while working to minimize the impact of potential industry actions on our customer operations,” the spokesperson said.

Australian airports have been under heavy pressure in recent weeks with long queues, flight cancellations and lost baggage, due to COVID and influenza-related staff shortages, weather disruptions and pent-up travel requests.

Thick fog caused massive queues through security and flight delays at Sydney Airport on Monday, with travelers waiting in lines that stretched outside the terminal.

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