Airport staff sleeping in 'Third World' conditions inside Sydney Airport   

Sydney Morning Herald
March 21, 2017

Aviation workers are sleeping on makeshift beds amid squalid conditions in the bowels of Sydney International Airport while they wait for their next shift.

Footage obtained by the Transport Workers Union shows bed rolls and bedding, hidden behind a baggage carousel laid out on a grubby concrete floor in what has been described as "Third World conditions".

Workers who sleep here are employed by one of Australia's largest aviation services companies, Aerocare, which offers baggage handling, aircraft loading, towing and other aviation services for some of Australia's biggest airlines including Qantas and Jetstar, Virgin and Singapore Airlines.

The Transport Workers Union says workers are spending more than 14 hours per day at the airport, under a split-shift arrangement aimed at cutting costs.   

Under the system workers can be told to work more than one shift in a single day. One former worker, Jason, said sometimes there was a six-hour wait between shifts.

"The employees, on their split shifts, just made little nests with airline blankets and waited," he said

"All the other staff know that's where Aerocare go on their shifts. Really you shouldn't even be at the airport after your shift."

Split shifts are allowed under a 2012 agreement that unions challenged.

Fair Work Commission vice-president Graeme Watson approved the enterprise agreement in February 2013, saying it passed the so-called better-off overall test. The test ensures workers are better off overall under a proposed enterprise agreement than they would be under the relevant award.

A former partner at law firm Freehills, Mr Watson was the last remaining Coalition appointee in a senior role at the commission and a strong dissenter in favour of business. He said the commission was "partisan, dysfunctional and divided" when he announced his resignation from it in January.

In his decision, Mr Watson said the minimum three-hour shifts under the Aerocare enterprise agreement was a "disadvantage" to workers compared to the minimum four-hour shifts required under the award.

"I do not believe that a three-hour work period followed by a subsequent one-hour unpaid meal break is consistent with the award requirement that employers roster part-time employees for a minimum of four consecutive hours on any shift or the minimum payment of four hours for casuals," he said.

"I propose to consider this change as a detriment to both part-time and casual employees."

However, considering all the circumstances, Mr Watson said he was satisfied the advantages within the enterprise agreement outweighed the disadvantages.

"In my view the benefits of the agreement are substantial," he said.

However, Jason said Aerocare workers were being paid so poorly they "didn't care about their jobs" and safety standards had started to suffer.   

"The pay and conditions were pretty bad, but my main issue was the safety issue, the fact that people are being so poorly remunerated they don't care about their jobs," he said.

"They are budget providers and this is not an industry that you should employ people on a budget."

TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said the footage showed "the reality of work behind the shiny facade of our airports".

"Workers are struggling on slave wages and sleeping on bed rolls because they have to spend long days at work to support their families," he said.   

"This is being allowed to happen because airports and airlines are outsourcing work to low-cost companies and not giving a damn about the workers in their supply chains that it affects."

In February, Qantas posted a statutory net profit after tax of $515 million, down 25 per cent on the previous year's result.

Aerocare said it was negotiating a new workplace agreement.

Chief executive Glenn Rutherford said he was focused on improving its rostering system and securing more contracts to help employees get longer shifts.

"It obviously isn't our preference to have shorter shifts but rostering is driven by the needs of our customers, with rosters determined by flight schedules and noting that it generally takes three hours to fully service an international aircraft," he said.

But any suggestion its employees were being "forced" to camp out in secure areas of Sydney airport while they wait for their "split shifts" was "false".

"No Aerocare employee is forced to do anything and it is difficult to comprehend how anyone could make such a claim given that last year alone we had over 180 safety and security related audits – all of which were passed," Mr Rutherford said.

"We would never knowingly allow any of our employees to sleep at the airport as the safety and well-being of our employees is paramount to our operation.

"Our employees enjoy improving wages, and safer conditions than those offered by many of our competitors and we have spent millions of dollars improving our rostering system to maximise the duration of employee shifts."

A Sydney Airport spokeswoman said it worked closely with airport partners, including the AFP and Border Force, to ensure a safe and secure environment.

"Any matters raised at the airport are resolved in consultation with our partners, in accordance with the relevant legislation," she said.

easy fix....  get rid of the split shifts...

I've done split shifts 10+ years ago but was on damn good money but they still suck.

I'd never design a roster like that

The Lefties that like to buy cheap clothing and goods imported from overseas are supporting these very conditions overseas that they are whinging about - talk about hypocrites.

Why can't these goods be made here in Australia ?

BECAUSE Bill Shorten and his corrupt Commo Unions have made Australia so overpriced and expensive with their ridiculous wage increases that simply increase the cost of living which negates the wages increase.

Bill Shorty and his corrupt Commo Unions are well known for their wages merry go round where they force a wage increase which increases cost of production which increases cost of living which "justifies" another wage increase!!!!

But now as Australian companies are in DIRECT competition with much more efficient and cheaper overseas companies Bill Shorten and his corrupt Commo unions are forcing Australian companies to sack their too expensive Australian workers and close and leave Australia.

The workers who come from overseas are used to rough conditions and easily adapt here.

Is it any wonder the few Australian companies that Bill Shorten has not closed down like to employ workers from overseas who give much better value for money ?

Get used to it, this is where Australia is heading as Bill Shorten and his corrupt Commo union parasites lose their death grip on Australia that is destroying Australia.

Unforgiven wrote on Mar 24^th, 2017 at 12:17pm:
fixed that for ya Mr singh.

The usual Lefty denials from behind the smokescreen of political correctness.

Shorty's union "solution" - impose top award wages and force the company to close down as can't compete with overseas, sack the workers onto Centrelink and import it all from China.

Crush Shorten and his corrupt Commo union parasites and save Australia.

Bam wrote on Mar 24^th, 2017 at 1:38pm:


A few things there,

Firstly the story itself had little fact just allegations.  Did anyone show "proof" of employment ?  No.  Did anyone show "proof" that they slept there ? no.  In fact the only "proof" was a video of some makeshift beds, and a guy who looks like he just lay down for the photo.

The worst part was they guy who said "if someone asked me about it, I would not be surprised if it was fatigue."   He didn't know.  Someone left a door open and he is guessing it might have been from fatigue.   

We have the best safety record in the industry.  That is a fact.

As a side note, there is a thing called ACARS the tells the flight crew if door are open, like the thing in you car that tells you your seatbelt isn't on, so they are not going to "take off" with a door open.

Secondly, I am 100% sure the facts are true, because I work for Aerocare and I checked it out myself.  In fact I spent most of the day today doing just that.

Now Aerocare was asked to comment on the story last week, but as diligent industry professionals,  instead of going blind into an interview to be ambushed, our response was to investigate the claims, which we did.

After investigation we contacted  7:30 on several occasions, but they were simply not interested in the other side of the story.

As of today, that has changed.

If you want your facts, watch 7:30 on Monday and you will get them, the CEO will be responding (if they let him)

I say that with a grain of salt as 7:30 have sunk in the boot hard, I hardly see them saying "sorry we were wrong", easier to say nothing and ride the wave of public indignation.

But what I can say is that the facts in Aerocare's  statement are 100% correct.

And yes, that facility is available to ALL Aerocare staff, and if they don't like that one, they are welcome at the other Aerocare office in the terminal.  I am sure they wouldn't bother though, with two couches and a TV, why would they ?

Some food for thought: do you really think AFP and CASA are going to let random people sleep in corners air-side these days?

You would be likely to wake up with a gun pointed at your head, you would definitely loose you ASIC (Aviation Security Identification Card) and likely loose your job, for violating the terms of your ASIC (an actual criminal offence)  and because you can't work air-side without one.

In fact it is a documented requirement of an ASIC holder to challenge ANYONE they see who is doing something other than legitimate work (like sleeping).  So technically, anyone who saw them and didn't challenge them and report them to airport security, would also be breaking the law.

Believe me, they take airport security very very seriously.

You think speeding fines are bad ? The fine for not returning you ASIC after you cease employment is $15,000.  I know, they sent me a letter to remind me when mine was about to expire.

So I suggest you stop beating up on us and wait for the facts to come out.

Facts have a habit of doing that !

Convincing enough ?

gfresh wrote on Mar 24^th, 2017 at 6:33pm:


juLiar is the king of liars