Sydney airport workers from Qantas, Virgin and Dnata who are fighting to keep their jobs will work together in a newly opened campaign office in the same building as Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s electoral office.
The TWU Office was opened today with State Secretary Richard Olsen, Assistant State Secretary Mick Pieri, Qantas workers, Federal MP for Sydney Tanya Plibersek and NSW MLA Daniel Mookhey and NSW MLC Mark Buttigieg.
Airport workers will use the office to plan events and actions, provide support for stood down and unemployed aviation workers, lobby politicians and engage with the local community about the Federal Government’s lack of action on aviation.
Aviation workers are frustrated at the lack of Government support.
Hundreds of aviation families in Scott Morrison’s own seat of Cook have been let down by the Prime Minister as their local member and head of Government.
This office has been created by them because they are demanding more from their representative.
Sydney airport workers want to take this fight right to Scott Morrison’s doorstep because the future of the aviation industry and the thousands of jobs it supports hang in the balance.
The Federal Government has no plan, no policy and no strategy for aviation and is allowing the industry to bleed out before our eyes.
Thousands of Qantas workers across Australia face being axed and outsourced by a spiteful out of control management that has received $800 million in public money, including JobKeeper which is supposed to keep workers connected with their employer.
Dnata workers continue to be shut out of Jobkeeper while the future of Virgin is still uncertain. Aviation workers feel very let down by the Federal Government and want to let the Prime Minister know this.
The TWU has begun legal proceedings against Qantas over the outsourcing with the Fair Work Commission hearing the case. A report by Ernst & Young states the criteria Qantas has set for workers to bid for their own jobs is “unattainable and unrealistic”.
Swissport, which the Fair Work Commission has confirmed pay their workers below award minimums and which has been exposed over low paid workers forced to sleep at the airports, has already begun advertising for the Qantas work.
Last Friday Qantas workers from Sydney airport delivered a letter to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce asking him not to outsource their jobs.
The public and politicians are being asked to sign a petition to the Qantas board: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/save-qantas-jobs/