SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — International air passengers are being warned of potential disruption and delays when union members in Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection go on strike for 24 hours on Aug. 12.
Staff including Border Force officers will walk off the job from midnight on Aug. 12 at international airports, ports and other sites around the country. Additionally, quarantine and biosecurity staff at airports will also strike for a one-hour stop-work meeting on that day.
Departing and arriving passengers on international flights are advised to allow for extra time and be prepared for possible delays during the industrial action.
A release from the Community & Public Sector Union states:
“We have written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull seeking an urgent meeting to resolve his Government’s public sector bargaining mess. We’re also preparing to take action in the Fair Work Commission around the Government’s lack of good faith in bargaining and resume our successful community campaigning to hold MPs and Senators to account.”
“Prime Minister Turnbull can avert future strike action, including the prospect of broader industrial action across the Commonwealth public sector, by working with us to fix this mess. All these workers want is to hang onto their existing workplace rights, particularly family-friendly conditions and a fair wage outcome given their wages have been frozen for the past three years.”