Qantas workers begin 24-hour strike at four Australian airports, union says

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Qantas QAN.AX airport workers launched a 24-hour strike on Thursday at the Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth airports demanding higher pay, more secure jobs and improved safety standards, the Australia's Transport Worker's Union (TWU) said.

The union said the industrial action involved workers from Qantas Ground Services (QGS), Australian air Express (AAE) freight operations and regional carrier QantasLink.

Employees were seeking pay increases in line with industry standards, more full-time positions and the integration of work groups under a single Qantas structure, arguing the company's use of multiple subsidiaries had fragmented the workforce and weakened safety standards.

In Sydney, the workers will be joined by up to 400 safety screeners conducting two sets of two-hour stoppages, who also planned a further three-hour stoppage on September 28, the TWU said in its statement.

"Strike action is always a last resort, but we are literally seeing workers maimed and killed keeping these critical services going," TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement.

The union also criticised Qantas' labour structure and said the airline needed a "fundamental reset" after years of cost-cutting.

Qantas outsourced the jobs of more than 1,800 ground workers in Australia who handled its broader network during the COVID-19 pandemic, in action later deemed illegal.

A court last year ordered the airline to pay a record fine of A$90 million ($64.03 million) over the matter.

Qantas did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.