Firefighters have voted to strike in a move that could throw airports around the nation into chaos during the busy holiday period.
On Thursday, members of the aviation branch of the United Firefighters Union (UFU) voted 93 per cent in favour of striking.
A no-confidence motion in Airservices Australia, the government-owned organisation responsible for overseeing aviation fire fighting services, passed with 96 per cent in favour.
The union said they need more firefighters to protect travellers.
“This is a ticking time bomb,” a union spokesperson told The New Daily.
“Every day we’re putting lives at risk without sufficient resources,” he said.
“This presents a significant risk to the safety and welfare of both the travelling community and firefighters and our members urgently want Airservices to address this problem,” said UFU branch secretary Wes Garrett.
Airservices Australia told TND that there is no shortage of firefighters and says the union’s claims are “misleading” and “designed to justify unnecessary industrial action to support an excessive wage claim” – of 15.5 per cent.
“The decision by the United Firefighters’ Union to take strike action is irresponsible …They should not hold the aviation sector to ransom,” a spokesperson said.
“We are urging the dedicated and committed aviation rescue fire fighting services team members who take their responsibility to aviation safety seriously not to abandon their posts on the eve of the peak Christmas period,” they said.
Airservices Australia claims to have made a salary offer of 11.5 per cent.
The union said the action is a safety issue that “transcends the enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations”.
“This is not about money – we’ve been campaigning on this issue for over twelve months,” their spokesperson told TND.
“We understand it will be a big inconvenience. We will seek to minimise disruption to the public where we can, but we would rather cause delays and disruptions than have an accident, not have firefighters on the ground, and people die.”
Mr Garrett said the union would meet next week to decide on the timing of the strike.
Strike action during the holiday period would be a major disruption for passengers who suffered the worst delays on record earlier this year during the school holidays.
“In accordance with the requirements of the Fair Work Commission, Airservices and the travelling public will be provided with seven days’ notice of any work stoppage before it takes place,” Mr Garrett said.
