Airplane refuellers go ahead with strike action at Sydney Airport

Airplane refuellers at Sydney Airport will walk off the job today in protest of what they call an attempt by their employer to introduce a two-tiered payment system, although both parties say no disruptions will occur.

Yesterday, Transport Workers Union spokesperson Michael Wong told SmartCompany a meeting between the TWU and Airport Fuelling Services resulted in a walkout by AFS officials, who chose not to enter into arbitration with Fair Work Australia.

However, Wong says he believes the disruption to the public will be minimal, given the AFS has said they will source workers from other areas to fulfil the missing positions.

“We don’t think the AFS would lie, or it’s not in their best interests to lie about disruptions to the public. They’ve told us they have contingency plans in place and they don’t expect any disruption to the public.”

“We wanted to negotiate, but AFS walked out of the meeting. We are still willing to negotiate a fair deal for all our workers.”

But in a statement yesterday, AFS spokesperson Felicity Wilson gave the impression it was the TWU officials who were being unreasonable.

“It is disappointing that this morning’s meeting was unsuccessful and is an example of the TWU being unwilling to negotiate to reach an outcome to the pay dispute with AFS,” she said in a statement.

“AFS understands that the TWU intends to continue its plan for a 24 hour strike this Wednesday and AFS has enacted contingency plans to minimise any disruptions.”

The issue is that the AFS wants to introduce a new pay scheme for new employees. While the 21 existing full-time employees have been offered a four-year contract including an annual pay rise of 5%, the AFS wants a grandfather clause permitting new employees to be paid at a different rate.

The AFS also argues casual and part-time workers aren’t covered in enterprise agreements, and it is simply not competitive to pay them the same right as full-time workers.

However, the TWU has offered a compromise – a three-year agreement, covering all employees, with an annual rise of 3.5%. The AFS has rejected this as well, saying Sydney refuelling workers are already paid at a higher rate than other airport workers, and it would be commercially unviable to keep paying them the same rates.

“AFS continues to support the view that for ongoing commercial viability, we need to introduce a pay structure for future employees which is more competitive than the above market wages we pay to current AFS employees,” Wilson said in a statement yesterday.

Workplace relations minister Simon Crean last week said both parties should be attempting to resolve the dispute through current Fair Work regulations.