JETSTAR ground crews and baggage handlers across Australia have voted to strike in the weeks leading up to Christmas and beyond.
The decision was taken after airline operators rejected their demands for better employment conditions.
These included 30 guaranteed hours of work per week and increases in current wages, which the Transport Workers Union says are among the lowest rates in the industry.
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READ NOWThe final decision on whether Jetstar pilots also will take industrial action in a bid for better pay and conditions will be announced on Friday afternoon.
The ballot for pilots voting to strike closed at midday on Friday after being open for a week.
The results of the vote held by the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and scrutinised by Elections Australia will decide on a number of different actions.
This could range from deciding not to work overtime, refusing to follow standard fuel-saving procedures or stopping work for up to 24 hours.
More than 51 per cent of the votes must be ‘Yes’ for any measures to become a protected industrial action.
The union claims its members represent about 80 per cent of the more than 800 commercial pilots employed by Jetstar in Australia.
Jetstar Group CEO Gareth Evans said it was “deeply disappointing” that the AFAP is threatening to disrupt holiday plans for tens of thousands of Australians.
He said the union demands of a 15 per cent pay increase in the first year would “put significant pressure” fares for the low cost airline.
Mr Evans said the three per cent annual increase in pay offered by Jetstar for captains was “40 per cent above Australia’s annual wage growth”.
He said Jetstar, which is a subsidiary of Qantas, was committed to reaching a new agreement but not at any cost.
“Strong arm tactics from the AFAP will not change our position on this,” Mr Evans said in a statement.
The union said Jetstar cancelled a meeting last Friday, as well as the next one scheduled this Friday, but Jetstar categorically denied the claims.
“The AFAP has been genuinely negotiating for nearly 12 months but the company remains unwilling to shift on any of the pilot’s pay and conditions such as rostering,” AFAP executive director Simon Lutton had said before the vote.
“Jetstar pilots simply want to be valued fairly in line with their peers at other airlines.”