QANTAS GROUND WORKERS VOTE UP INDUSTRIAL ACTION AS AIRLINE UNVEILS MORE MAMMOTH PROFITS

Qantas ground workers have overwhelmingly voted up industrial action by 97%, giving over 600 workers the right to walk off the job in the coming weeks.

The remaining Qantas Ground Services (QGS) workers, after 1800 ground staff were illegally outsourced, have seen pay, safety and conditions drop to rock-bottom levels.

QGS is a wholly-owned Qantas subsidiary set up under Alan Joyce to pay workers less than its “legacy” workforce, under casual and part-time positions. The workers now perform work for Qantas Freight, including a large proportion of Australia Post work, and the company’s regional Q-Link service.

Another vote on industrial action is soon to commence for over 100 Australian Air Express workers, who are part of a separate Qantas wholly-owned subsidiary and also want to be combined under the one banner.

Recently TWU health and safety reps in NSW served Qantas with 14 provisional improvement notices over safety failings by management at Qantas Freight, where investigations are ongoing after a labour hire Qantas Freight worker was killed last year.

QGS workers are calling for job security, a fair pay rise after years of wage freezes have left them behind, and for the scattered work groups to be brought back together under a single Qantas banner, instead of being pitted against each other.

TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine:

“Last week we saw Qantas crying poor over $2 billion in profits, while the board awarded itself a 17% pay rise-but workers and the public see right through it.

“As a Qantas ground worker you used to be assured of a lifetime career. Now, not only are the jobs transitory and insecure, workers are risking life and limb just to go to work.

“These ground workers don’t want to go on strike, but after being sold a false promise that this airline would finally treat them with respect, they’ve got no other choice.

“Alan Joyce created new companies under Qantas to pit the workgroups against each other. New management is refusing to bring that practice to an end. Despite its assurances of turning over a new leaf, this is the same old Qantas.

“It’s time for Qantas to start treating its people as an investment, not a cost to be ruthlessly driven down, and these workers are willing to take industrial action to force them to.”