SYDNEY, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Some ground crew at Australia’s largest airline, Qantas Airways, on Monday voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action over pay and job conditions.
The Transport Workers Union said 97% of 350 workers who voted backed industrial action, including work stoppages ranging from one hour to 24 hours.
No date has been set for a strike. The union is required to give three days of notice before taking industrial action.
“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,” said Michael Kaine, the union’s national secretary.
The workers had seen their “pay, safety and conditions drop to rock-bottom levels”, the union added.
The strike threat comes after Qantas’ long-haul pilots in early August also voted in favour of industrial action before reaching a wage deal with the airline.
Qantas said in a statement that it was committed to reaching an agreement with its staff that included annual pay rises. The exact details of the airline’s offer were not clear.
“Discussions through the Fair Work Commission have been constructive and negotiations are continuing,” it said.
“Our focus is on an agreement that addresses what employees have told us matters most, including pay and more full-time opportunities.”
Qantas added that it had contingency plans to minimize any impact on operations in the event of a strike.
Its ground staff are employed by the subsidiary Qantas Ground Services as casual and part-time employees.
They work for Qantas Freight and the company’s regional Q-Link service, but do not service mainline and international services.
“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,” the Transport Workers Union said.
Qantas and its ground staff are due back in Australia’s Fair Work Commission for talks on September 18.
Qantas on Thursday reported A$2.06 billion ($1.47 billion) in annual underlying profit before tax, a 14% fall attributed to a surge in fuel costs from the Middle East conflict.
($1 = 1.3970 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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