The workers at Melbourne Airport who refuel Qantas flights are planning to call a strike for a full day later this week. The strike is bound to affect cargo, domestic, and international flights out of the airport. The strike is led by Transport Workers Union (TWU) who are fighting against unfair wages and working conditions.
The workers are employed by Rivet who provide specialist technical labor and services for aircraft refuelling.
TWU said in a statement: “Rivet workers refueling planes for Qantas international, domestic, and QantasLink at Melbourne airport had notified the company of a 24-hour strike on Wednesday if a fair solution is not provided to the increase of workloads and responsibilities without pay and conditions keeping pace. The strike will be staged from 04:00 on Wednesday to 04:00 on Thursday, and is expected to affect Qantas flights out of the airport, freight companies Australia Air Express and DHL, and some international carriers.”
Qantas is the major airline client of Rivet, accounting for roughly 60% of Rivet's refuelling work, according to the TWU. Despite the carrier reporting a successful half-year profit in the billions, the refuelling workers have yet to receive a pay raise for more than three years.
Mem Suleyman, the TWU's Assistant Branch Secretary, said: “Rivet should act responsibly and respond to workers' reasonable requests for recognition and solutions to high work volumes to avoid disruption to flights out of Melbourne Airport this week. For a year, Rivet refuellers have tried to reach a fair agreement but have instead been faced with base wage freezes which impact their pay now and long into the future. In the current cost-of-living crisis it is unacceptable to expect workers to pick up extra responsibilities and work harder, faster and longer to make ends meet.”
“These are workers in one of the most dangerous jobs in the airport, yet they are being pushed to the limit while pay and conditions fail to attract more workers to share the load. Although protected industrial action is always a last resort, these workers know it is the only option left to bring the company to a fair agreement,” Suleyman added.
Despite comments from the TWU, Qantas said there have been no changes to its flights out of Melbourne on Wednesday (Mar. 8).
Melbourne Airport is reportedly in talks with Rivet and notified its airline customers to understand the potential impact planned industrial action may have on operations.