Startrack workers to strike

AS AUSTRALIA’S package delivery network buckles under an online shopping boom, Startrack staff have vowed to strike next week.

The Transport Workers Union says drivers and distribution centre workers are angry the Australia Postowned company has refused to provide specific job security guarantees, claiming outsourcing as high as 70 per cent at some Startrack yards.

“For months now, the workers sweating it out in trucks and distribution centres to meet extreme demand have been battling behind the scenes to protect their jobs against an insurgence of outsourcing,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.

“Thanks to government inaction, Australia is facing the double-edged sword of ‘the Amazon effect’.

“Supply chains are wrung dry by cost cutting by wealthy retailers while operators are forced to compete with exploitative Amazonflex.”

The TWU says calls for a negotiation meeting this week were knocked back, despite a ballot closing with a 90 per cent endorsement of going on strike.

It gave about 2000 StarTrack union members – about 70 per cent of the workforce – protection to walk off the job.

They now plan to do just that for 24 hours on Thursday.

Australia Post is being sought for comment.