24-Hour Strike at Australian Airports Leads to Delays

International air travelers are being advised to allow extra time at Australian airports as a result of a 24-hour strike by customs and immigration workers.

Department of Immigration and Border Protection staff, whose job is to check passports and process entry into the country, began a strike at midnight local time on Friday.

Delays are expected at airports in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Cairns and Coolangatta.

The workers haven’t seen a pay increase since 2013. “Across the public service, more than 100,000 workers and their families have now gone three years without a pay rise while struggling to hold on to basic workplace rights and conditions, particularly the ones that allow them to balance work with family commitments,” said Nadine Flood, national secretary of the community and public sector union.

In addition to the one-day work stoppage, a one-hour stop-work meeting by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources took place, leading to further delays at quarantine and biosecurity.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)