Australian customs workers to strike from tomorrow
Trans-tasman travellers take note - the strikes will involve stoppages and partial work bans at Australian airports and international mail facilities.
UPDATED: Air New Zealand does not expect the strike action to affect flight schedules, but said customers could experience delays within terminals.
Customers could experience delays within the terminal with arrival and departure processing around the affected times, an Air NZ spokeswoman said.
Arriving international passengers connecting onto domestic Australian flights were advised to move quickly through their Australian gateway as quickly as possible to avoid possible misconnection, the spokeswoman said.
Departing international passengers were encouraged to go through security and departure or border processing early to avoid being held up and missing their flight, she said.
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Community and Public Sector Union members employed with the Australian Customs and Border Protection will hold one and two hour strikes from tomorrow.
The strikes follow the rejection of the proposed Enterprise Agreement 2011-14 by staff, Customs and Border Protection said.
The strikes will involve one and two hour stoppages at and partial work bans at various work locations including airports and international mail facilities.
Customs is warning of anticipated delays in processing international travellers at airports, it said, and was working with airport owners and airlines to minimise the impact on the travelling public.
"Customs and Border Protection has in place contingency arrangements to protect Australia’s borders and minimise impacts on business operations."
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said on its website that thousands of customs officers at about 50 locations around Australia would strike for up to two hours from 7am tomorrow.
The CPSU said strike action was part of a growing dissatisfaction with the way Federal Government handled pay negotiations.
Customs said it had negotiated in good faith to propose an affordable agreement, within its budget and the parameters of the Australian Government Bargaining Framework.
Alex Walls
Mon, 26 Sep 2011
Mon, 26 Sep 2011
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Australian customs workers to strike from tomorrow
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