Air traffic controllers will join the Australian Federal Police and aviation firefighters in strikes against the latest federal government wage deal that gives office workers a right to work from home in exchange for a reduced wage claim, but fails to financially compensate critical services workers and first responders.
In what has shaped up as a defining national industrial battle with real private-sector implications, Civil Air, the union representing civilian air traffic controllers, has put a strike vote to its members that is almost certain to return a positive vote and have a major impact on airport operations.
The Civil Air strikes will hit airport operations.
Airservices Australia, the employer in the dispute, on Friday went on the front foot to start managing public and political fall-out from the looming dispute that’s set to have Australia’s bureaucrats, elected representatives and the public spending much more quality time in their favourite airline lounges — if they have one.
It’s understood the strike ballot closes on May 1, 2024 — a red-letter day for organised labour that is traditionally celebrated with marches, speeches and other festivities.
According to Airservices Australia, Civil Air is seeking a 20% wage increase over three years.
The claim is exactly the same starting point as the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) set out last year before extracting the so-called right to work from home that saw the former clerks’ union land on just 11.2% in exchange for a right to work from home.
The 20% mark is also where the United Firefighters Union Aviation Branch has pushed its claim boat out from, but none of the federal unions outside the CPSU appears willing to accept the 11.2% deal struck with the Australian Public Service Commission as the wage high-water line.
Non-APS agencies with frontline workers who can’t work from home are now essentially stuck with the deal the CPSU struck for public servants who can, unless they can push the deal all the way to the Fair Work Commission.
Aged care workers did.
Last month, many direct care workers, including nurses, walked away with a wage increase of between 18% and 28.5% after a four-year work value case run by the Health Services Union that resulted in a pivotal finding wages were historically undervalued based on gender.
The challenge for Airservices is that it’s supposed to recoup its operating costs through charges to airlines and airport users that then flow onto passengers. If, like the aged care sector, airports have been riding a structural wage discount for some time, that could mean a regulatory remuneration reset.
“As part of negotiations which commenced in November 2023, Airservices has offered a $78 million pay rise comprising 11.2 per cent over three years in line with the Australian Public Service Commission’s recent pay decision, as well as the retention of all current conditions,” Airservices Australia said.
“The range of potential actions on which Civil Air members will be asked to vote includes work stoppages of up to 24 hours, which could disrupt the travel plans of tens of thousands of Australians and international visitors.
“The ballot is scheduled to close on May 1 and any potential actions would then require a minimum of seven working days’ notice. Airservices has plans in place to increase the number of available [air traffic controllers], including by hiring and training new staff, and we have made our team and the union aware of our progress,” Airservices Australia said, adding it was concerning that “Civil Air is now proposing to direct their members to refuse to participate in the training of new ATCs, potentially delaying their commencement.”
But a bigger problem for the Albanese government is that there are now three critical services unions in dispute with their federal employers, two of which can potentially keep flights grounded.
Sooner or later, an industrial circuit breaker may well be required.
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Federal cops, aviation firefighters mount joint operation to hose government over pay
