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Aviation rescue firefighters will this afternoon receive the results of their vote on whether to take industrial action over the Easter break.
If approved, strikes could begin on Thursday, 28 March – potentially causing huge disruption over the busy holiday period.
The United Firefighters Union claims an apparent shortage of staff at airports is leading to fatigue problems among its members that could potentially lead to a serious safety incident.
Airservices, which is responsible for providing firefighting services, strongly denies these claims.
The UFU’s aviation branch secretary, Wes Garrett, said, “Right now, domestic and international flights are taking off and landing without the required number of aviation firefighters and trucks to protect that aircraft’s size and passenger capacity.
“In some cases, flights are operating with no aviation firefighters on duty.
“At other locations, such as the Gold Coast airport, large international flights carrying up to 365 passengers did not have the aviation firefighter protection required under international aviation safety law.
“To cover staff shortages, current aviation firefighters are working unsustainable amounts of overtime to fill the gaps, resulting in massive fatigue. This is unsafe for firefighters and the air travellers they seek to protect.”
If members vote in favour of the action, Airservices will be required to provide seven days’ notice that Aviation Rescue Fire Fighters (ARFF) services will be unavailable at Australia’s 27 largest airports.
Potential action includes work stoppages varying from four hours to full shifts and a ban on working overtime.
In a previous statement, an Airservices spokesperson rejected claims of understaffing, saying that it has sufficient ARFF staff to meet its operational requirements and is continuing to recruit for future needs.
Additionally, Airservices added that the firefighters are also seeking a 20 per cent pay rise as part of enterprise agreement negotiations, which it claimed would cost an additional $128 million.
“As part of negotiations which commenced in September, Airservices has offered a $32 million pay rise comprising 11.2 per cent over three years in line with the Australian Public Service Commission’s recent pay decision, as well as the retention of all current conditions,” the spokesperson said.
“As an industry-funded organisation, any increase in Airservices’ operating costs is ultimately passed on to passengers in the form of higher airfares.
“The potential industrial action includes work stoppages which could disrupt the travel plans of tens of thousands of Australians and international visitors during the peak Easter holiday season, at a time when the Australian aviation sector is still recovering from the impact of the pandemic.
“Airservices will take all available steps to minimise disruptions to flights as a result of industrial action, and will work with airlines and airports to maintain safe operations.”
Airservices currently employs more than 830 firefighters, with another 48 expected to join this year.
“Airservices will continue to seek a resolution with the UFUAV to deliver a fair outcome for our ARFF services employees that avoids disruption to the travelling public,” the spokesperson said.
