Qantas in firing line of 24-hour refuellers’ strike at Melbourne Airport

Melbourne Airport refuellers threaten a 24-hour strike on Wednesday over pay and conditions, which could cause chaos to international airlines including Qantas.

Qantas is among a number of airlines facing disruption on Wednesday as refuellers at Melbourne Airport threaten a 24-hour strike.

Employees of Rivet have flagged plans to walk off the job from 4am over a dispute centred on pay and conditions.

Transport Workers Union assistant branch secretary Mem Suleyman said the industrial action followed a year of negotiations between Rivet and their refuellers.

“These are workers in one of the most dangerous jobs in the airport yet they are being pushed to the limit while pay and conditions fail to attract more workers to share the load,” said Mr Suleyman.

“Although protected industrial action is always a last resort these workers know it is the only option left to bring the company to a fair agreement.”

Mr Suleyman said workers were being subjected to base wage freezes that would impact their pay now and long into the future.

“In the current cost-of-living crisis it is unacceptable to expect workers to pick up extra responsibilities and work harder, faster and longer to make ends meet,” he said.

A Melbourne Airport spokesman said they remained in talks with the refuelling company and airline customers to “understand the potential impact of planned industrial action”.

“We will work with the airlines to minimise any disruption to travellers.” the spokesman said.

Qantas was the major airline client of Rivet accounting for roughly 60 per cent of the company’s refuelling work. Freight companies Australia Air Express and DHL and some international carriers also relied on Rivet’s services.

A Qantas spokeswoman said there had been no changes to flights out of Melbourne on Wednesday.

“Once we have more details from Rivet about the impact of the planned strike by their workers, we can put in place contingencies such as carrying additional fuel from other airports to minimise impacts to our customers,” said the spokeswoman.

It’s the latest in a series of threatened strikes in the airline industry, none of which have come to fruition after talks resolved the disputes.

Late last year, baggage handlers and Qantas licensed maintenance engineers and domestic cabin crew all voted in favour of protected industrial action after enterprise negotiations broke down.

All but cabin crew have since reached agreement with a deal between the airline and short haul flight attendants believed to be imminent.