Delays as strikes hit Qantas in Australia

Thousands of passengers faced delays in Australia on Friday as Qantas baggage handlers and ground staff staged their second strike in just over a week with warnings their action could escalate. The airline estimated some 8,500 international and domestic travellers were hit during one of the year's busiest days for air travel when Transport Workers Union (TWU) members walked off the job for an hour over stalled contract talks. It was the second major strike to hit the embattled airline in as many weeks, and follows separate stop work action by government-employed border security staff across Australia on Tuesday. Qantas said two domestic flights were cancelled with delays to some 40 services, including on routes to Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Johannesburg. During a stop-work meeting, staff voted to continue their industrial campaign for better pay and possibly escalate the strike. "We'll keep taking these actions while they're talking to us but don't be surprised if they do end up with a 24-hour stoppage," TWU official Mick Pieri told reporters. "The end result is that we'll get a great outcome, the worst result is that Qantas will keep stonewalling us." Qantas media chief Olivia Wirth said she was appalled at the disruptions on one of the year's busiest days for air travel. It is the school holidays and a three-day weekend in Australia, and the popular Australian Rules and National Rugby League football codes are holding their grand finals, the latter involving the New Zealand Warriors team. "The timing is absolutely appalling. The union have targeted this day, this would have to be one of the top five travelling days in Australia," she said. "We hope that they will not take any further action until we have an opportunity to have further discussions." Managers were dispatched to catering and baggage handling roles to help ease the disruptions, she added. "We've done everything possible to minimise the outcome but we do understand there'd be a lot of frustration -- and why wouldn't there be?" Qantas is facing industrial revolt from all three of its staff unions -- the TWU and those representing pilots and engineers -- following the announcement of an Asia-focused restructure that will see 1,000 jobs axed. Only pilots are yet to escalate their dispute over future pay and conditions to full-blown strikes.