September 26 2016
    Sydney Morning Herald

Airport delays expected as Border Force staff go on strike

   

Sydney: Delays are expected at Sydney's international airport from Monday morning as a series of rolling strikes by Border Force staff begins as part of an ongoing battle with the federal government over employment conditions.

For three years staff have been fighting an attempt to cut pay through the removal of conditions for dangerous or specialised work and for the right to have a say if there are moves to change their place or times of work, according to a Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) spokesman.


The strikes will involve rolling stoppages by staff across the Department of Immigration and Border Protection at international airports, cruise ship terminals and cargo facilities from Monday morning through until October 2.

Further action would be planned "as needed".


Exemptions remains in place to ensure national security and the safety of the general public during industrial action, the union said in a statement.

More than 80 per cent of immigration and Border Force officers voted in March to reject a government offer that the union argues would have "stripped key rights and conditions, made life harder for families and provided a pay rise of just one per cent per year".

The strikes are scheduled to end on October 2. Thank God for that. I fly out to the US on October 5. I really don't see the point to these strikes. They don't hurt the government. The only people affected are innocent travellers. The CPSU members already enjoy generous wages and conditions. End the greed, end the strikes and get back to work.

Any Labor Opposition's last resort is INDUSTRIAL ANARCHY and Shorty with his back to the wall is resorting to this not so Secret Weapon to try to cripple this Govt.



Travel Delays Expected As Border Force Stops Work 1000 days of negotiations have failed to reach an accord.
Eoin Blackwell Senior Associate Editor, HuffPost Australia 26/09/2016 10:10 AM AEST | Updated 10 hours ago


Workers at Melbourne Airport stop work earlier this year

Hundreds of Immigration and Border Force staff are expected to begin walking off the job on Monday, as part of two weeks of rolling industrial action following failed workplace negotiations with the Federal Government.

Click to see shorten STRIKE video

Australia's international airports, cruise ship terminals and cargo facilities will see rolling stoppages over the next two weeks, as workers walk off the job in 30-minute blocks.

Strikes may occur at any airport, cruise ship terminal or cargo facility at any time during the day or night
CPSU Statement

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said the rolling stoppages come after more than 1000 days of failed negotiations with the Federal Government.

"These workers are trying to get government to take this seriously and give us someone to sit down with and resolve this longstanding mess," CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood told the ABC.

"Under Prime Minister Turnbull they haven't talked to us in a year."

More than 80 per cent of the staff from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) voted in March against an agreement which would have seen certain rights and conditions stripped in exchange for a pay rise of just one per cent per year, the union said.

Click to see Shorten's STRIKE action in action

The Department of Immigration issued a statement last week -- when it was notified of the action -- saying it "flies in the face of this bargaining process and represents an unreasonable and unwarranted escalation at a time the Department is looking to find consensus".

"The design of this action is such that it is likely to create unreasonable levels of disruption and uncertainty across critical functions of the Department and will most likely limit the Australian Border Force's ability to mitigate threats and risks at the border."

Border Force postponed the industrial action earlier this year in the wake of the Brussels terror attack.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/09/25/travel-delays-expected-as-border-for...

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