School holidays flight disruption fear as QantasLink staff threaten action

Qantas in Fair Work Commission to stop school holiday regional industrial action Qantas is at the Fair Work Commission trying to prevent the Transport Workers Union (TWU) from going ahead with industrial action next week. The planned 24-hour strike action on Thursday relates to QantasLink flights out of Sydney and freight services but may affect those travelling to selected regional areas. School holidays are about to begin in Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory. The industrial action involves about 650 employees, with most working on Qantas Freight and a smaller proportion servicing QantasLink flights at Sydney Airport. These workers don't service Qantas mainline and international services, or QantasLink at any other airport. Qantas said it had developed contingency plans to minimise any impact on QantasLink customers and operations, if industrial action went ahead. "We remain committed to reaching an agreement with our Qantas Ground Services employees that includes annual pay rises for our people," it said in a statement. Transport Workers Union National Secretary Michael Kaine said workers were not taking the action lightly. "Any disruption to freight, including Australia Post shipments, sits solely at the feet of Qantas management and its brutal disregard for customers and the workforce," Mr Kaine said. He blamed increasing casualisation and insecure work for the ground crew for contributing to "shocking safety failures", something Qantas disputes. “This action comes just over a year after a Qantas Freight worker was tragically killed on Father’s Day, " he said. Qantas disputes TWU claims that safety incidents have increased since ground handling moved to Swissport more than five years ago. Mr Kaine claims Qantas is continuing to "splinter" its workforce to suppress wages and "smash conditions". "This is corporate greed on steroids, and it comes at the expense of quality service for customers, and safe, reliable jobs for the workforce." Qantas said discussions through the Fair Work Commission had been constructive and negotiations were continuing. "Our focus is on an agreement that addresses what employees have told us matters most, including pay and more full-time opportunities,"it said.