Sydney among five cities hit by 24-hour Qantas ground workers' strike; Qantas says contingency plans in place

Hundreds of Qantas ground workers are staging a 24-hour strike on October 28 at five major Australian airports. The action covers Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth airports, by Transport Workers' Union (TWU) members employed across three Qantas subsidiaries — Qantas Airways Limited (QAL), Qantas Ground Services (QGS) and Australian Air Express (AAE) — whose roles include moving freight, including for Australia Post, and supporting QantasLink passenger operations in Sydney.

Union demands: pay, more full-time jobs and safety

The union is calling for improved wages, more full-time employment and hours, pay in line with industry rates, and for the workforce to be brought back under one Qantas banner. The TWU said the employees are among the last remaining Qantas ground workers following the airline's unlawful outsourcing of approximately 1,800 workers in 2020, and claims some workers now receive lower pay and conditions than employees of the contractors that replaced the outsourced workforce. The union also cites safety concerns, arguing that splitting the workforce has reduced experience at airports. Wednesday's walkout follows an earlier strike in September, backed by 97 per cent of members in an August ballot, according to Australian Aviation.

Qantas response: no disruption expected for passengers

Qantas said it has strong contingency plans in place and does not expect this action to cause any disruption to QantasLink customers, adding that these employees do not handle Qantas Domestic or Qantas International flights, or QantasLink outside Sydney. Qantas has put a new agreement directly to QGS staff, offering pay rises of up to 26 per cent over its life, back pay to September 2025, more full-time opportunities and increased part-time hours; Qantas said fewer than 600 employees were eligible to take protected industrial action. QantasLink passengers travelling from Sydney on Wednesday should still check their flight status before heading to the airport.