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End sub-contracting at Syd AirportDate: 31 May 2005
LHMU Airport Security Union members have been campaigning for three years demanding an end to the pyramid contracting of airport security work at Sydney Airport - Australia's major international gateway. Reports in the media today of a secret Customs Report outlining major security problems at our signature international airport do not surprise this union, LHMU Airport Security Union NSW Secretary, Annie Owens, said today. " At almost exactly the same time that the Customs Report was being completed our union activists were working with The Australian newspaper to outline how pyramid contracting was creating a security screeners nightmare at Sydney airport," Annie Owens said. ( See The Australian September 24, 2004: Little-known firm that supplies guards for airport baggage checks)Airport Security activists not surprised by media reports" So our people are not surprised by today's media reports," Annie Owens said." We argued then, as we argue now, that the Federal Government should consider re-negotiating the contract with the current security company, SNP, if they won't meet all their obligations to supply permanent specialist security screening staff to protect travellers at Sydney Airport. " The LHMU Airport Security Union has for a long time complained to Sydney Airport, Qantas and the Federal Government about the use of labour-hire firms to supply our security screening needs - without the proper checks and balances.
Labour hire arrangements are not good enough for sensitive security screening at our airports"The problem that I see with the current subcontracting arrangements are that SNP subcontract to a company popularly known as 'Frank's Boys'," Annie said."They're known around the industry as 'Frank's Boys' and we've been pursuing that company for years because of a variety of workplace problems. "The problem is the use of this subcontracting company does not provide the balances and checks needed to ensure all security staff are ridgy-didge. "Basically they are a labour hire company who just provide bodies to SNP for them to use wherever they want. " These guys are working just on day passes, which the ordinary public can obtain from SACL [Sydney Airport Corporation], so in our opinion there's no balance and checks on exactly who is working on the security side at this important workplace.
Permanent, trained airport security screening staff needed" Our union has consistently argued - and appeared with these arguments before Parliamentary inquiries - warning that we need a permanent full-time airport security workforce." We must end the use of casual, untrained, workers called in without proper checks to fill in, on an ad-hoc basis, gaps in our aviation security - gaps which a professional screening service should have foreseen, and planned to meet with trained workers," Annie Owens said.
For media commentChad Griffith02 8204 7204 0425 214 618
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