News

Australia’s largest transport union, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), is pursuing a 16% pay increase over three years for up to 35,000 freight workers, and has won the right for industrial action.



Workers employed by Australian Air Express (AAE), a joint-venture between airline Qantas and Australia Post, have voted in favour of bans on overtime, rolling 24-hour stoppages and striking indefinitely.



The TWU says that cost-cutting and outsourcing at AAE are hampering safety in the industry.



TWU Federal Secretary Tony Sheldon said: “We’ve got a slippery approach from this company and others outsourcing their work.



“It undermines safety and decent wages in this community.”



A reported 400 AAE workers are expected to strike from next week. The company has proposed a 9% pay increase, compared with the 16% called for.



Sheldon said the union had been negotiating with AAE since May this year. He said the private sector overall had seen an average increase of 27.5% in profits over the past 12 months, but wages had increased by only one-tenth of that amount.