Key facts
- Hundreds of Qantas ground workers will strike for 24 hours next week.
- The strike is over pay and working conditions.
- The Transport Workers Union announced the strike.
- Workers will strike on Wednesday in Victoria and Thursday nationwide.
- The strike will affect freight and QantasLink regional flights.
- Qantas was fined A$90 million for illegally outsourcing ground worker jobs during the pandemic.
Hundreds of Qantas ground workers are set to strike for 24 hours next week over pay and working conditions, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) announced on Friday. The industrial action will impact freight services, including Australia Post shipments, and QantasLink regional flights.
Workers are scheduled to strike on Wednesday in Victoria and on Thursday across the rest of Australia. The TWU stated that Qantas management's "brutal disregard" for customers and the workforce is solely responsible for any disruption caused by the strike.
This action follows a previous dispute where Qantas outsourced the jobs of more than 1,800 ground workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This move was later deemed illegal by a court, which ordered the airline to pay a record A$90 million fine.