Nationwide union stoppages will begin from tomorrow against freight carrier Australian Air Express over an enterprise bargaining dispute
By Brad Gardner | November 17, 2010
Nationwide stoppages against freight carrier Australian Air Express will begin tomorrow as part of union efforts to pressure the company into agreeing to significant wage increases.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) will hold 24-hour stoppages at multiple sites after the company refused a 16 percent pay rise over three years for workers.
Strikes will be held in the morning and evening in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and Perth.
“We’ve been calling on them to come to the table and properly negotiate and to date they have failed to,” TWU National Secretary Tony Sheldon says.
He says the union has been trying to broker a deal with Australian Air Express since May and that the company’s offer of 9 percent over three years is not good enough.
“Our members have waited for the company to get back on its feet following a hard economic year last year, but believe the company is now in a position to bargain fairly,” Sheldon says.
Owned by Qantas and Australia Post, Australian Air Express runs domestic and international operations including linehaul and courier services.
The TWU is currently in negotiations with trucking operators such as Toll and Linfox, but it is seeking an 8 percent pay increase over two years. It also wants a commitment from operators to increase superannuation each year until it reaches 15 percent.
Waste transporter JJ Richards faces industrial action unless it introduces an enterprise bargaining agreement, while United Resource Management has been ordered to negotiate with the TWU.