Travel chaos is looming for thousands of Aussies this NRL grand final weekend after Jetstar customer service staff at major airports launched a \u201clast resort\u201d strike ahead of the weekend showdown.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Australian Services Union workers across major airports began a one-hour work stoppage in the morning and are expected to stage another one-hour stoppage in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Impacted airports include Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Cairns. <\/p>\n
Workers with also cease non-essential duties for the day, including routine passenger announcements and calls, disruption and cancellation management tasks.<\/p>\n
Following on from last weekend\u2019s industrial action, union members will also have the right to waive excess baggage charges, seat change fees, late fees and other eligible sales related transactions for customers. <\/p>\n
A Jetstar spokeswoman advised the strike action would not impact customer flights across the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have strong contingency plans in place and don\u2019t expect there will be any impact to customers\u2019 flights as a result of industrial action,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to keep customers updated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The strike action comes after pay negotiations between the parties failed to come to a resolution.<\/p>\n
Don Brown from the Australian Services Union said the workers \u201cdon\u2019t want to strike\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the last resort,\u201d Mr Brown told 9News.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when the profits are raking in for Qantas and Jetstar and the workers aren\u2019t sharing in that, this is their last resort action.\u201d<\/p>\n
ASU assistant national secretary Scott Cowen said their members \u201chelp people get where the need to go\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the reason people can travel Jetstar this Grand Final weekend and they\u2019re connecting friends and family across the country and beyond, during school holidays. That work does not stop being hard just because a company decides it is not worth paying properly for,\u201d Mr Cowen said.<\/p>\n
Mr Cowen said the union was forced to strike when Jetstar would not come to the table with a reasonable offer to reflect increasing earnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re taking action because during a cost-of-living crisis, during extreme weather conditions, the airline has failed to support workers with extra weather protections or a pay offer that responds to this crisis properly.<\/p>\n
\u201cJetstar\u2019s domestic earnings are up 15 per cent this year on record passenger numbers, and Qantas Group is turning a profit. <\/p>\n
\u201cA 2.1 per cent pay rise for the people who made that possible is not what a fair share looks like.<\/p>\n
\u201cJetstar has the money and the record year to make this right. Every day it chooses not to is a day our members decide how much further they are prepared to take this.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is understood Jetstar have proposed a 2.1 per cent pay increase for its customer service workers, including backpay to April, to build to a 3 per cent rise from April 2027.<\/p>\n
The offer is reported to include a new structure recognising experienced workers, improved penalties and allowances and flexible rosters.<\/p>\n
Jetstar told media the deal was a \u201cfair offer\u201d which would ensure they could deliver low-cost value to customers in a time when aviation fuel costs were rising. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very disappointing the ASU has chosen to pursue further industrial action despite Jetstar putting forward a comprehensive and fair offer, including meaningful pay increases, improved penalties and allowances, and greater rostering flexibility,\u201d a Jetstar spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis offer delivers strong outcomes for our people while ensuring we can continue to invest in our fleet, grow our network and keep fares low, at a time when fuel costs continue to put pressure on the aviation industry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Travel chaos is looming for thousands of Aussies this NRL grand final weekend after Jetstar customer service 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