Strikes disrupt Sydney Airport security and ground services as workers demand better pay

Passengers travelling from Sydney Airport today are being warned to arrive with extra time before their flight, as two separate strikes impact airport security and ground services.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) said around 400 security staff walked off the job for two hours this morning, following stalled pay negotiations with private company Certis Security.

The workers were expected to take part in another two-hour stoppage tonight from 6pm, as well as a three-hour stoppage on Monday, the first day of the state's school holidays.

A spokesperson for Sydney Airport said they recommended passengers "allow [for] extra time and stay alert for messages from their airline".

In other planned action, the TWU said hundreds of ground service employees of two Qantas freight subsidiary companies had gone on strike for 24 hours at Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth Airports.

Some baggage handlers working for the airline's regional arm QantasLink at Sydney Airport also joined the strike, as workers called for more guaranteed hours and a pay increase.

A Qantas spokesperson said the airline had "contingency plans" in place and was not expecting the action to disrupt customers.

"These employees do not service Qantas Domestic or Qantas International flights or QantasLink outside of Sydney," the spokesperson said.

'Quite disruptive' to passengers

Passenger Sue Hobley had been in line for about 30 minutes at Sydney Airport on Thursday morning, but said she was "not fussed" by the wait.

"Australia's had very good worker health and safety laws and we need to maintain them. We need to protect workers."

Frequent Flyer Con, who did not provide his last name, said the delays were "quite disruptive".

"There are a lot of people here that have to catch flights and they're going to miss them so I don't know how they're going to deal with that aspect," he said.

Con said he accepted workers' rights to raise concerns but said the manner in which they did so "shouldn't disrupt the community as a whole".

"I would've thought there was a different forum. I don't know whether this approach is the right approach, quite frankly," he said.

TWU NSW secretary Richard Olsen criticised Certis and Sydney Airport for staffing security checks with untrained casuals during the strikes.

"If they don't have the staff available, they should not be utilising untrained staff because that puts everyone at risk," Mr Olsen said.

He said the union had been negotiating with Certis for "months," arguing for better pay and conditions for workers, some of whom had been "forced to go part-time".

"This airport is not going away, it can facilitate permanent work, decent rostering, decent opportunities to take leave," Mr Olsen said.

Wages and conditions a focus

A Certis spokesperson said the company was "committed to constructive bargaining" with employees.

The spokesperson said Certis employees at Sydney Airport received pay and conditions "materially above those provided under the relevant industry award".

Josh Millroy from TWU's Queensland branch said workers striking at Brisbane Airport were "predominantly freight workers," causing disruptions to AusPost, FedEx and UPS.

"Trucks are barely leaving the gate today, freight is not being unloaded from planes, there's going to be significant impacts," Mr Millroy said.

The workers on strike were employees of Qantas subsidiaries Australian airExpress and Qantas Ground Express, according to the union.

Mr Millroy accused Qantas of using its subsidiary companies to "suppress the wages and conditions" of workers, accusing the airline of providing many with only 15 hours of guaranteed work a week.

"The workforce has been so heavily splintered," he said.

A Qantas spokesperson said the company remained "committed to an agreement that delivers annual pay rises and more full-time opportunities for our people, and certainty for our customers and our operations".