It comes after astrike at rival logistics firm Toll last month and will be followed by another at FedEx next Thursday. In each case,the TWU is negotiating new enterprise agreements and wants greater restrictions on the use of outsourcing. The companies say they already offer a high level of job security.
StarTrack hadtried to cancel or delay the strike by appealing to the Fair Work Commission on the basis that the stoppage could delay coronavirus vaccine deliveries,however,it was knocked back. The risk of at most a day or two delay was “of very low order”,commissioner Ian Cambridge decided.
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Company spokeswoman Michelle Skehan said it was bargaining in good faith,had offered a 3 per cent annual pay rise for the next three years and urged the TWU not to delay deliveries to the community.
“This same offer was recently accepted by nearly 30,000 Australia Post employees in their new EBA[enterprise bargaining agreement],” she said. Many StarTrack staff covered by the agreement are paid in the range of $62,000 to $72,000 a year.
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine accused StarTrack of misrepresenting the scale of the protests,saying the union’s delegates had seen members stopping work in droves. It counts about 2000 members at the company.
“Instead of undermining workers’ voices in the media,StarTrack management should listen to them,get back to the bargaining table and guarantee good,secure and reliable jobs,” Mr Kaine said.