Everything You Need To Know About The Pre-Christmas Jetstar Strike
"Jetstar knows they are on the lowest pay in the industry."
If you have a flight booked with Jetstar in the lead up to Christmas, we have bad news for you. Flights across the country have been cancelled after ground staff walked off the job in Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide and at Melbourne’s Tullamarine and Avalon airports.
The strike comes after Jetstar rejected workers’ demands for a four percent pay increase, a guaranteed 30 hours of work a week, 12 hour breaks between shifts, more rest breaks and safety improvements.
In August, Qantas Group, which owns Jetstar, reported an underlying pre-tax profit of $1.3 billion, which was down 17 percent.
Flight cancelled today? Blame @JetstarAirways who keep their staff on poverty wages and won’t guarantee their safety at work #JetstarSolidarity #povertydoesntfly #twu2020 pic.twitter.com/ntEnvtwtOK
— TWU Australia (@TWUAus) December 12, 2019
But today’s strike is just the tip of the iceberg — tomorrow the airline’s pilots are also expected to start striking, demanding a pay rise.
Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine told media Jetstar staff were living on “poverty wages”.
“Jetstar won’t listen when these workers say to them that they simply can’t survive on 20 hours of work a week … when they make sure Jetstar knows they are on the lowest pay in the industry,” he said.
Yesterday SafeWork NSW also issued Jetstar with an “improvement notice” after an inspection showed ground crew were at risk of serious injury.
What Does This Mean For Passengers?
More than one hundred flights have been cancelled so far from today until Sunday — you can find out more information on that here.
Any passenger who has a flight booked from now until December 20 are able to request a refund. Flights after December 20 should not be impacted by the industrial action.
Jetstar ground crew strike times:
Sydney: 5.30am-7.30am and 5.30pm-7.30pm
Melbourne: 9.30am-11.30am and 4pm-6pm
Brisbane: 6am-8am and 6pm-8pm
Adelaide: 6am-8am and 6pm-8pm
Cairns:5.30am-7.30am and 1.30pm-3.30pm
Avalon: 8.30am-10.30am and 6.30pm-8.30pm