Qantas ground workers mount another strike

Hundreds of ground workers for the national carrier have once again walked off the job for 24 hours, in protest over outsourcing, as well as pay and conditions.

Transport Workers Union (TWU) members working for Qantas Ground Services (QGS) in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth took a further round of protected industrial action on Wednesday (28 October) following initial strikes in September, which were backed by 97 per cent of members in an August ballot.

According to the TWU, workers are calling for “fair pay in line with industry standards”, as well as more full-time jobs and hours, and the reconsolidation of workers under a single Qantas banner after they were split among three different companies under former CEO Alan Joyce.

QGS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, which the union said was set up under Joyce to “pay workers less than its ‘legacy’ workforce, under casual and part-time positions”.

“Qantas has tried its best to turn beloved careers into scraps of poorly paid, unsafe work – but hundreds of ground workers today are striking for better,” said TWU national secretary Michael Kaine.

“These workers used to be proud to say they work for the Flying Kangaroo, just as the public used to be proud of this airline.

“But that won’t happen again until Qantas properly invests in its workforce, with pay in line with industry standards, more full-time jobs, and an end to workers being pitted against each other in competition.

“It’s time for the new Qantas management to shed the spiteful corporate attitude it inherited from Alan Joyce, and actually value workers driving the airline’s billions in profits.”

The striking workers mainly handle Qantas Freight operations, with some also working on QantasLink operations in Sydney. The airline saw little impact from strikes in September, with no disruptions to flights from Sydney Airport as of 9am, Wednesday.

“We are aware of planned industrial action by some of our freight and regional workgroups in Sydney and we have contingency plans in place. Importantly there will be no disruption to our customers,” a spokesman said.

“We remain committed to reaching agreements with our employees that deliver substantial pay increases and reflect the priorities they have told us are important to them.”

In a deal to be voted on by QGS employees in the coming weeks, Qantas is offering back pay from September 2025, pay increases up to 26 per cent, more full-time opportunities, and an increase in part-time hours.

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