Source : Perth Now news
Qantas workers at major airports across the country are walking off the job for the next 24 hours in protest of subcontracting conditions which union reps say gives Qantas the ability to “drive down pay and conditions”.
Ground crews based at Qantas terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth have downed tools, claiming their careers are being turned into “scraps of poorly paid, unsafe work”.
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said workers who “used to be proud to say they work for the Flying Kangaroo” had been forced to down tools in an effort to bring Qantas back to the negotiating table.
“The public used to be proud of this airline. But that won’t happen again until Qantas properly invests in its workforce, with pay in line with industry standards, more full-time jobs, and an end to workers being pitted against each other in competition,” he said.
“It’s time for the new Qantas management to shed the spiteful corporate attitude it inherited from Alan Joyce and actually value workers driving the airline’s billions in profits.”
Sydney Airport and Qantas have been asked for comment.
More to come
