Ground staff forced to wait 15 hours to complete second shift
GROUND staff have blown the whistle on what really goes on behind the scenes at Australia’s busiest airport – and it isn’t pretty.
Staff say they are forced to camp beside baggage carousels, sleep in luggage containers among rat droppings and rubbish, and hang around inside Sydney Airport for up to 15 hours a day to work split shifts for paltry pay, the ABC reports.
Workers from ground handling contractor Aerocare also told of a frightening near-miss involving sleep-deprived staff when a fully loaded Tiger Air passenger jet in Brisbane prepared for take-off with a cargo door left wide open by mistake.
Aerocare is contracted to major airlines to provide ground support at Sydney airport, loading bags and passengers and performing safety checks.
“It’s filthy, it’s cold, it’s dark, it’s just absolutely horrible,” Aerocare truck driver George Orsaris told ABC’s 730 program.
“Its definitely not conditions that people in this day and age, especially in Australia, (expect) are going on here.
“It’s unthinkable.” Photos show makeshift beds underneath passenger terminals where staff camp between shifts because they can’t afford to go home.
“They can’t afford the fuel or the tolls,” Transport Workers Union spokesman Tony Sheldon said, claiming workers were earning as little as $1500 a month.
Aerocare, which reportedly posted a $13 million profit last year, has denied the allegations of poor treatment and fatiguerelated safety incidents.
The TWU is pushing for minimum shift hours to be extended from three hours to four hours and the removal of any obligation for staff to work split shifts.
Staff are currently paid about $21–$27 an hour.