The Transport Workers’ Union has said a near-miss between Jetstar and Qatar planes at Sydney Airport demonstrates a workforce in crisis, with the union in the midst of conducting investigations into other recent incidents.
While investigations are continuing, the TWU has said air traffic control has been a crisis in the making after over a decade of systemic lack of support for the workforce.
The TWU represents workers across the aviation industry, including ground handlers, cabin crew, air traffic controllers and pilots.
The union continues to receive widespread and alarming reports from across the industry of safety deficiencies arising from poor training, understaffing, and insecure working conditions.
A TWU survey last year of over 2000 aviation workers showed almost 9 in 10 have been pressured to rush or work unsafely, and only 1 in 5 say they have adequate staffing members.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said:
“This is not business as usual in aviation-it is an industry crisis. Without urgent action in aviation, one of these near-misses has the potential to become a catastrophe.
“Across the aviation industry, this revolving-door workforce is understaffed and exhausted. We’ve seen another aviation worker hurt from this incident after a horrific string of injuries and a worker killed at Qantas Freight last year. That is unacceptable.
“Aviation CEOs and executives have gutted this industry in the relentless pursuit of short-term profits. We’ve seen experience drained from our airports through aggressive cuts to jobs, pay and conditions. That puts workers and the entire travelling public at risk.
“These alarming incidents reinforce why the union movement pushed Labor to commit to an Aviation Coordination Council to bring this dysfunctional industry together. Widespread consultation about how that council functions, and its pathway to legislation, are now urgent to return aviation to a sector where passengers are workers are safe. Good, secure jobs are the fundamental backbone to a functioning aviation sector.”
