Australia’s Qantas Airways ground crews vote to strike over ’rock bottom’ pay

On Monday, a majority of ground crew at Australia's largest airline, Qantas Airways, voted to authorize strike action over pay and job conditions, according to the Transport Workers Union. The union reports that 97% of 350 workers who participated in the vote supported industrial action, which could range from one hour to 24 hours long. However, no strike date has been set yet, as the union must provide at least three days' notice before taking action.

Michael Kaine, the union's national secretary, stated that the ground workers were dissatisfied with their current situation and felt compelled to strike after being promised improved treatment by the airline. The workers have witnessed their pay, safety, and working conditions deteriorate to "rock-bottom" levels, according to the union.

The strike threat follows a similar move by Qantas' long-haul pilots earlier in August, who also backed industrial action before reaching a wage agreement with the airline. Qantas has expressed its commitment to reaching an agreement with its staff, which includes annual pay rises. However, the specifics of the airline's offer are not yet clear.

The Fair Work Commission has been facilitating discussions between the parties, with both sides reporting constructive negotiations. Qantas emphasized its focus on an agreement that addresses employees' concerns, particularly pay and more full-time opportunities. The airline also mentioned having contingency plans to mitigate any operational impact in case of a strike.

Qantas ground staff, who are employed by the subsidiary Qantas Ground Services, work as casual and part-time employees for Qantas Freight and the company's regional Q-Link service. They do not handle mainline and international services. The workers are seeking job security, a fair pay increase after years of wage freezes, and consolidation of their groups under a single Qantas banner to avoid internal divisions.

Qantas and its ground staff are scheduled to return to talks at Australia's Fair Work Commission on September 18. In the meantime, Qantas reported A$2.06 billion ($1.47 billion) in annual underlying profit before tax in its latest financial results, a 14% decrease due to rising fuel costs stemming from the Middle East conflict.