Security threat grounds airport strike

Plans by Border Force workers to conduct strikes at ­major airports were dramatically shelved last night.

Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd said the union’s demands were unreasonable, pointing out that Border Force staff had 15.4 per cent superannuation.

Plans by Border Force workers to conduct rolling strikes at ­Australia’s major airports were dramatically shelved last night after the federal government ­revealed there was an “intolerable” threat to national security.

The Fair Work Commission granted an urgent order to ­suspend the nationwide work stoppages after a senior Border Force official gave evidence that the risk profile facing the nation had escalated in recent days.

Government lawyer Tom Howe QC told the commission the risk profile had risen from “tolerable” to “intolerable” in the past week.

The Australian understands the risks relate to “persons of ­interest” connected to possible terrorism and drug smuggling at air and sea ports.

Mr Howe warned there was a greater chance the “persons of interest” could enter Australia because of reduced “capacity” to screen for possible threats.

“Events at the very end of last week took the risk profile from tolerable to intolerable,” he told the commission yesterday.

“Diminished capacity at this point in time represents a different profile to last week.”

Border Force officers check passports and question and search travellers coming into and leaving Australia. Officers also search baggage, aircraft and vessels, and patrol the tarmac, wharf and baggage-handling areas to detect and deter criminal activity.

The Border Force Counter-Terrorism Unit, which was set up in 2014, deals specifically with national security threats at Australian borders “by intervening in suspicious situations and ­intercepting suspicious persons of national security interest”.

Earlier yesterday, Border Force Assistant Commissioner Clive Murray gave evidence in a closed hearing in Melbourne.

In its unexpected application lodged against union-led strikes under section 424 of the Fair Work Act, the commonwealth stated that “Australia faces a range of threats to its borders, which includes threats to the life, personal safety, health and welfare of travellers and the Australian community”.

“The industrial action taken to date and planned at airports and seaports across Australia threatens to endanger the life, personal safety, health or welfare of the Australian population or part of it,” it said

The application was fiercely opposed by the Community and Public Sector Union.

Steve Crawshaw SC, for the CPSU, branded the government’s case one based on “opinion, hearsay and speculation”.

The government sought the injunction for “tactical” reasons in its long-running battle with the CPSU over public ­service pay agreements, Mr ­Crawshaw said.

The CPSU’s latest bloc of strikes, which include Department of Agriculture officers, have been in force since Wednesday. The strikes have resulted in a backlog of sea and air cargo.

Mr Crawshaw claimed Mr Murray’s reasons for the ban were “statements of opinion” and ­“entirely lacking of evidence to justify the order”.

A full hearing into the section 424 application is set for ­tomorrow at 10am.

The CPSU, which has been striking on and off since June 15, 2014, called off all industrial ­action in the immediate wake of the Brussels terrorists bombings.

However, it launched the work bans again on Wednesday, notifying Border Force of strikes until Tuesday, April 12, at the earliest.

CPSU national secretary ­Nadine Flood said at the weekend that members were “absolutely committed to the safety of our community and Australia’s national security”.

“The reality is this round of rolling strikes is no different from previous industrial ­action ... we’ve agreed to more than 50 exemptions for officers whose work ­relates to counter-terrorism and security since this industrial ­action began almost a year ago.”

On its website, Border Force stated: “We strongly encourage airline and cruise ship passengers to plan for potential delays by ­arriving at international airports and cruise ship terminals even earlier.”

An impasse in bargaining over workplace agreements has left staff in dozens of departments and agencies in limbo over their ­employment contracts. The union is demanding­ ­annual wage rises of 3 per cent to 4 per cent. The government has offered 2 per cent a year for three years.

Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd called for the union to allow the government’s application: “It would seem to be the responsible course for them to ­accede to a suspension, because the application has been lodged, the responsible ­people in the department consider there is a risk.”

He said the union’s demands were unreasonable, pointing out that Border Force staff had 15.4 per cent superannuation.

“By any measure the conditions in the DIBP agreement are good and well in excess of what many in the private sector enjoy”, Mr Lloyd said, adding he was “concerned when public service unions adopt aggressive industrial tactics with little regard for the impact on the public”.