Air dispute out of control
By MICHAEL OWEN-BROWN
12jun02
AUSTRALIA'S airports will be thrown into chaos on Friday unless there is a breakthrough in stalled industrial negotiations.
Air traffic controllers plan to stop work for up to five hours from 4pm, grounding all domestic and international flights at 32 airports.
A resolution to the dispute appeared unlikely last night.
The two parties yesterday accused each other of sabotaging negotiations.
The dispute is over possible relocation of air traffic control centres in Adelaide, Sydney and Perth to Melbourne.
Airservices Australia, which runs the centres, says it is looking at the moves, but has made no decision.
Civil Air Operations Officers Association president Ted Lang said centralisation would be a recipe for disaster with "serious operational and safety implications".
About 150 air traffic controllers faced an uncertain future.
Mr Lang said centralised air traffic control had been abandoned in the United States and United Kingdom because of safety concerns.
The chief executive officer of Airservices Australia, Bernie Smith, said he was appalled at the union's action, which had been timed to cause maximum disruption.
He said a contingency plan may be developed.
"The union says they want to talk – we've been trying to talk and negotiate for 15 months," Mr Smith said.
"The union is confusing corporatisation with privatisation. Corporatisation is simply moving towards an efficient self-funded organisation with a good business structure.
"In regard to work conditions, no air traffic controller currently employed will be affected by changes to career structure."
He claimed the union had stalled the talks by attempting to reopen matters previously agreed.
Compounding the industrial turmoil in Australia's airports, the union representing security workers has launched a campaign claiming security measures introduced since September 11 are inadequate.
The Australian Liquor, Hospital and Miscellaneous Workers Union plans to hand out postcards to passengers listing nine claimed failures of the Federal Government.
The union claims the Government has failed to enforce uniform security standards resulting in weak links in the airport network.
Assistant national secretary Joanne Schofield said there was a need for uniform signs and hi-tech screening equipment.
A Department of Transport report – which the Government refuses to release – is believed to reveal prohibited items are still slipping through the screenings.
"People are still coming out of different airports with different items," she said.
"The inconsistencies with people going through different airports must be fairly apparent to some passengers."