Workers in Australian airports strike to protest against pay cut

Airport workers in Australia’s major international airports are agitating against cut in pay by the Abbot government. As a result, in many international airports, passengers have experienced disruptions and delays since Monday morning. The striking staff of the customs and Immigration departments in various airports allege that the government’s plan to cut allowances will drain them AUD 8,000 from the pay.

Many airports issued advisories to travelers heading overseas to "come in as early as they can." Reports say the strike hit international airports in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin. At Melbourne airport, the strike started at 7 a.m. on Monday and continued until 11 a.m., with more action starting from 9 p.m. on Monday night and continuing on Tuesday. Both border guards and customs officers have joined the rolling protest. As a result, morning as well as evening shifts have been affected.

Union’s statement

The Community and Public Sector Union issued a statement on its website that its members in the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will walk off the job “to protest the Abbott government’s attack on their rights, conditions and take home pay.”

CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood said workers were facing losses up to AUD 8,000 in allowances. For them, the allowances are hard earned and vital to compensate long hours, dangerous work, as well as time spent away from home and family. Flood alleged that the government is targeting the serving staff after chopping 17,000 public sector jobs. She called the pay cut as an assault on the working conditions of those in the service. The union leader noted that the Abbott government and the department could have averted the strike as they had more than a year to sit down with the union and work out a fair deal, safeguarding the rights, conditions and take home pay. Instead, the government directed the agencies to put forward draconian deals that will shame any private sector employer.

More to join

Workers in national security, counter-terrorism and specialist bio-security hazard role have stayed away from the strike. A spokesman for Adelaide airport said an international departure on Monday morning left 15 minutes late. It is learnt that the Agriculture Department's quarantine section will also participate in the industrial action alongside the Australian Border Force marine unit.

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