Australia: Dnata ground crew begin strike vote

Dnata ground crew have begun voting on whether to take industrial action after failing to agree a deal on working terms. The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) said the current offer to its members amounted to a pay cut and added staff are currently under “enormous pressure from understaffing”. Dnata has responded by saying its pay deal is “highly competitive” and must ensure its overall operations are financially sustainable. The move significantly comes after Qantas outsourced 2,000 in-house ground handling roles to third-party companies, including Dnata and Swissport. The Federal Court twice ruled that decision breached the Fair Work Act, but crucially said those employees won’t be able to get their old jobs back and instead must accept compensation. The vote on industrial action, including potential strikes, opened on Monday and will close on Friday, 2 September. TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said, “Dnata workers are bravely voting to get rights to take protected industrial action because of their shocking treatment despite making huge sacrifices for this company.” “They’ve gone from two years of being shut out of JobKeeper by the Morrison government to being pushed into an agreement with suppressed wages and part-time work with minimal guaranteed hours that’s caused a mass exodus in this industry. Since Qantas illegally sacked and outsourced this workforce, it’s pushed away its responsibility of directly bargaining with workers, and instead is using its massive commercial power to bully companies like Dnata into ultra-low-cost contracts creating a downward spiral of wages and conditions.”<br/>