Qantas ground workers are planning a strike next week over 'Joyce-era' bargaining agreements that divided their workforce, aiming for consolidated better wages and job security. Currently, 600 workers from Qantas Ground Services and an additional 100 from Australian Air Express plan to strike on Wednesday and Thursday, following years of union battles against outsourcing and staff replacements during the pandemic. The Transport Workers' Union (TWU) seeks one enterprise agreement for ground staff across various entities instead of the current multiple agreements, citing historical issues under former CEO Alan Joyce that weakened unions through separate employment agreements.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Qantas ground staff are planning a strike next week over "Joyce-era" bargaining agreements that divided their workforce under former CEO Alan Joyce. The 600 workers, mainly involved in freight and regional service at QantasLink, seek better wages and job security. This follows the illegal sacking of 1,800 colleagues during the pandemic who were then replaced by outsourced staff. An additional 100 workers from domestic logistics company Australian air Express (AaE) are expected to join the strike on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) is pushing for a single enterprise agreement covering ground staff across multiple Qantas entities, including Qantas Ground Services (QGS), AaE, and legacy entity Qantas Airlines Ltd. "Workers do not take this action lightly," said TWU national secretary Michael Kaine, highlighting the ongoing impact of Joyce's divisive tactics on the workforce unity.
Written for “Qantas Strike Over Bargaining Agreements” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score -0.65 for article 16549 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-17
Qantas ground workers are planning to strike next week, as the transport union battles to consolidate work groups that were split up under former chief executive Alan Joyce.
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that → plan → Joyce
The 600 workers poised to go on strike are the last remaining Qantas ground workers, after 1800 of their colleagues were illegally sacked and replaced with outsourced staff during the COVID pandemic.
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1800 → poise → pandemic
The staff, who mainly work on the airline’s freight business and its regional service, QantasLink, are seeking better wages and more job security.
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who → work → wages
An additional 100 workers for domestic logistics company Australian air Express (AaE) are expected to strike on Wednesday and Thursday next week, the TWU said.
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TWU → expect → Wednesday
The union is pushing for one enterprise agreement to cover ground staff and freight handlers working in Qantas companies Qantas Ground Services (QGS), AaE and legacy entity Qantas Airlines Ltd as well as labour-hire groups, in contrast to the multiple agreements currently in place.
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union → push → place
“Workers do not take this action lightly,” said Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine.
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Kaine → take → action
“Old habits die hard, and the same despicable Alan Joyce tactic of splintering the Qantas workforce has been dusted off by the new bosses who want to suppress wages and smash conditions.
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who → die → conditions
Under Joyce, who quit as Qantas boss in 2023, the airline moved to weaken the power of unions by outsourcing staff roles and rehiring under separate employment agreements.
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airline → quit → agreements
A representative of Joyce was contacted for comment.
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representative → contact → comment
The TWU successfully challenged the Qantas decision to sack 1800 workers in 2020.
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TWU → challenge → 2020
A federal judge in 2025 imposed a $90 million fine on the company, while Qantas also agreed to pay $120 million to staff who were illegally sacked.
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who → impose → staff
Qantas has paid up both amounts, and under CEO Vanessa Hudson, has sought to rebuild relationships with staff and customers.
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Qantas → pay → staff
Qantas said it expects to meet with the TWU on Friday.
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it → say → Friday
It said negotiations over conditions for QGS staff, who don’t service mainline or international Qantas aircraft, were ongoing.
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who → say → aircraft
The airline said the agreement covers around 650 employees, with the majority working on Qantas Freight and some QantasLink services.
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majority → say → Freight
But Qantas says only 400 QGS employees are members of TWU who are eligible to strike.
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who → say → TWU
Qantas pointed to comments about QGS it made in August: “We remain committed to reaching an agreement with our Qantas Ground Services employees that includes annual pay rises for our people.
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that → point → people
“Our focus is on an agreement that addresses what employees have told us matters most, including pay and more full-time opportunities.
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employees → address → pay
“We have well-developed contingency plans to minimise any impact on customers and our operations, should we be notified of any industrial action,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → have → action
The TWU said Qantas’ historical division of its workforce has drained experience from airport tarmacs leading to unsafe standards.
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division → say → standards
The TWU pointed to the death of a Qantas Freight worker last year as evidence of the deteriorating situation.
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TWU → point → situation
Qantas said there had been no uptick in safety incidents since it moved its ground handling contracts to Swissport in 2020.
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it → say → 2020
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newsletter → deliver → stories
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