kabarsula Hundreds of Qantas ground workers strike, Qantas says no flights impacted bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Hundreds of Qantas ground workers are staging a 24-hour strike across five major Australian airports today (28 October), amid an ongoing dispute over pay, working conditions and job security.

Workers at Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth airports are taking industrial action as the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) calls on Qantas to improve wages, increase full-time employment and address alleged safety concerns.

Despite the industrial action, Qantas said there had been no impact on flights as of 9am, with 100 per cent of QantasLink services departing Sydney on time.

The workers are employed across three Qantas subsidiaries: Qantas Airways Limited (QAL), Qantas Ground Services (QGS) and Australian Air Express (AAE). Their roles include moving freight, including for Australia Post, and supporting QantasLink passenger operations.

The TWU said the employees are among the last remaining Qantas ground workers following the airline’s unlawful outsourcing of approximately 1,800 workers in 2020.

The union claims some workers now receive lower pay and conditions than employees of the contractors that replaced the outsourced workforce.

TWU calls for improved pay and conditions

The union is demanding pay increases in line with industry standards following what it describes as a decade of wage suppression, alongside more full-time jobs and guaranteed working hours.

It is also calling for employees to be brought back under one Qantas employment structure, arguing that the division of workers across subsidiaries has contributed to safety concerns and a loss of experienced staff.

The TWU pointed to the death of a Qantas Freight worker on Father’s Day in 2025, noting that a SafeWork investigation remains ongoing.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said the strike reflected growing frustration among workers.

“Qantas has tried its best to turn beloved careers into scraps of poorly-paid, unsafe work—but hundreds of ground workers today are striking for better,” Kaine said.

“These workers used to be proud to say they work for the Flying Kangaroo, just as the public used to be proud of this airline. But that won’t happen again until Qantas properly invests in its workforce, with pay in line with industry standards, more full-time jobs, and an end to workers being pitted against each other in competition.”

Kaine also urged the airline’s management to reconsider its approach to employee relations.

“It’s time for the new Qantas management to shed the spiteful corporate attitude it inherited from Alan Joyce, and actually value workers driving the airline’s billions in profits.”

The action comes amid wider industrial tensions across Australia’s aviation sector, with Virgin Australia cabin crew also preparing to vote on potential strike action over pay and working conditions.

Qantas reports no flight disruptions

Despite hundreds of workers taking industrial action, Qantas said its operations had not been disrupted as of 9am on Wednesday.

The airline confirmed that all QantasLink flights departing Sydney had left on time and said contingency plans were in place to minimise disruption.

“We are aware of planned industrial action by some of our freight and regional workgroups in Sydney and we have contingency plans in place. Importantly there will be no disruption to our customers,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

“We remain committed to reaching agreements with our employees that deliver substantial pay increases and reflect the priorities they have told us are important to them.”

While Qantas reported no disruption to passenger flights as of 9am, the impact of the strike on freight operations was not immediately clear.