iscover
Ampol airport refuellers are voting on protected industrial action, with the union saying their pay is below industry standards.
The ballot, which closes on 5 July, comes after a proposed enterprise agreement by Ampol was knocked back 64 votes to five. Ampol had attempted to block the vote from going ahead, but was overruled last week by the Fair Work Commission, which gave it the green light to proceed.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) said it had met with Ampol, which serves Virgin Australia as well as Qantas’ domestic, international and freight aircraft, ten times with little success, as the company “largely refus[ed] claims and avoid[ed] formal responses”.
TWU NSW/QLD state secretary Richard Olsen accused Qantas and Virgin of pressuring the fuel supplier into “keeping workers among the lowest paid”.
“Ampol workers are bravely voting to get rights to take protected industrial action because of their shocking treatment from the company, all because of contract pressures from larger airlines like Qantas,” he said.
“These workers want to remain in the industry but they literally can’t afford to see their wages and conditions go backwards any further.
“Across our airports, workers are overworked and exhausted trying to get flights operating smoothly, but still struggling on wages that are barely above the legal minimum with no financial security.”
According to Olsen, Ampol had forced the hand of workers into a vote on “last resort” strike action after “months of failed talks”.
“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. Airline clients must stop squeezing wages and conditions through cut-price contracts,” he said.
“These are workers in one of the most dangerous jobs at the airport, yet they are being pushed to the limit while pay and conditions fail to attract more workers to share the load. Ampol needs to come to the table and commit to improving the wages and conditions of its workers.”
Ampol did not respond to Australian Aviation’s request for comment this week, but in an earlier statement said it was “continuing to work through its enterprise bargaining agreement with its Sydney Airport refuelers team”.
“Negotiations remain ongoing and in good faith, with contingencies currently being considered should the possibility of operational disruptions arise,” a spokesperson said.
Qantas and Virgin Australia declined to comment.
