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To: Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Strambi

Justice for Airport Workers

Behind the shiny facades of airports around Australia - including here in Melbourne - lies the appalling reality faced by airport workers.

Melbourne airport makes billions of dollars in profits every year, yet the Australian Pacific Airports Corporation is refusing to meet with airport workers about the unsafe and unfair pay and working conditions.

For too long airport workers have been forced into low-paid, insecure jobs while airlines and airports make billions of dollars off the back of workers suffering.

Transport Workers Union Victoria/Tasmania Branch Delegates and Officials have launched this petition to shine a light on the abhorrent pay and working conditions of workers at Melbourne Airport (trading under Australian Pacific Airports Corporation). The Union is calling on Melbourne Airport to hold discussions with workers to ensure safety and pay concerns are addressed and mediated.

Why is this important?

Imagine this, you work in the airport - it’s a good job, the job you used to tell people when they asked. However, the dreams of a good occupation is quickly hit down by the reality of the pay and conditions you have to deal with day in day out. Split shifts, insecure work, wages being driven down, and not enough hours working hours. That’s the reality in the airport!

What’s worse is that airport management refuse to talk to (let alone address) workplace concerns - in fact, the management at the airport you primarily work from are now shutting out workers’ working under the airport roof. Yep they refuse to meet with airport workers working at the airport! These workers have asked for a meeting for months but Melbourne Airport continue to refuse.

You have witnessed what the introduction of split shifts has meant that some of your co-workers have been forced to sleep at terminals or in and around tarmacs between shifts. You know that deliberate understaffing is causing injuries and poor working conditions which is resulting in a lack of experienced and trained staff members. And that’s just skimming the surface.

On top of this, your wages demonstrate the harsh reality of trickle-down economics. The airports where you work in made over $2.2 billion in profits last year alone.

This is the reality for airport workers at Melbourne Airport - yep, Victorian workers are facing these conditions right here in our own backyards.