Delays at Australia airport due to strike

International traveler will face delays at Australian international airports, as about 4000 customs officers will take industrial action this week, Customs and Border Protection confirmed on Monday. The protected action to start on Tuesday this week will affect passengers at international terminals at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Cairns of Australia. Cairns and Sydney's international airport will also be affected on Thursday and Saturday. According to Customs and Border Protection national director, Roxanne Kelley, more work stoppages were expected next week, and the union would give advance notice. "At the moment all we know is that there is outages again planned for next week, and we're working to manage those as well," Kelley told reporters in Canberra on Monday. In the planned action, it will see one to two hour stoppages depends on different airport, with container examination facilities and international mail facilities will be affected. Kelley said the impact on cargo and mail operations would be limited and the agency was working with airlines to minimize disruption to flights, but it was anticipated the shortage of staff would result in delays. Meanwhile, Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Nadine Flood said the union's members were taking the action after being offered pay rises which did not keep up with inflation or the rising cost of living, while being asked to accept cuts to their entitlements. However, Kelley said the federal agency had negotiated with workers in good faith, adding that while its latest offer did not include a better pay offer, it had been repackaged to improve conditions. "The offer that we've put on the table is the one that's affordable within our budget and within the government's parameters," she said.