Qantas ground staff set to strike over ‘Joyce-era’ bargaining agreements

September 18, 2026 — 3:00amQantas 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.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.Qantas unlawfully made more than 1800 ground staff redundant during the pandemic and outsourced their jobs.APThe staff, who mainly work on the airline’s freight business and its regional service, QantasLink, are seeking better wages and more job security. 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.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.“Workers do not take this action lightly,” said Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine. “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.”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. A representative of Joyce was contacted for comment.The TWU successfully challenged the Qantas decision to sack 1800 workers in 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. Qantas has paid up both amounts, and under CEO Vanessa Hudson, has sought to rebuild relationships with staff and customers.Qantas said it expects to meet with the TWU on Friday. It said negotiations over conditions for QGS staff, who don’t service mainline or international Qantas aircraft, were ongoing. The airline said the agreement covers around 650 employees, with the majority working on Qantas Freight and some QantasLink services. But Qantas says only 400 QGS employees are members of TWU who are eligible to strike.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.“Our focus is on an agreement that addresses what employees have told us matters most, including pay and more full-time opportunities.“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.The TWU said Qantas’ historical division of its workforce has drained experience from airport tarmacs leading to unsafe standards. The TWU pointed to the death of a Qantas Freight worker last year as evidence of the deteriorating situation.Qantas said there had been no uptick in safety incidents since it moved its ground handling contracts to Swissport in 2020.The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.Chris Zappone is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X, Facebook or email.From our partners