FedEx employees quit their jobs, protest against work outsourcing
Thousands of workers at a major parcel delivery service who fear for their job security left work across the country on Thursday morning.
Deliveries were almost certainly affected as 2,500 FedEx employees began a 24-hour strike to 1 a.m.
Speaking to the media at 8 a.m., Transport Workers Union National Secretary Michael Kaine said workers were taking action to end the outsourcing of work to contractors and companies like Amazon and Uber .
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âYou don’t quit work on a whim, you quit when you have a terrible choice to make,â he said.
âThe choice between ensuring that you and your family have a secure financial future or the choice of essentially giving a company – in this case FedEx – an authorization slip to outsource that financial security to a lower level. “
Mr Kaine said transport workers have been “some of the heroes” during the pandemic with their efforts to continue supplying supermarkets and delivering essentials.
He said the industry was now “under attack” and called on the federal government to intervene.
“They (the workers) are getting their guts kicked by transportation companies across the country and FedEx is the latest example of that,” he said.
âRather than paying these workers back with job security and financial security for their families, they are kicking them in the guts.
âFedEx took $ 84 billion in revenue last year. It has made a net profit of $ 5 billion in the past year and these workers are asking for assurances that their jobs will be here tomorrow and next week. It is not too much to ask. “
It comes after 2,000 StarTrak employees went on strike last week to stop the outsourcing of work.
“We tell StarTrek where the workers took industrial action last week, we tell Toll where the workers took industrial action three and a half weeks ago, we tell Linfox and BevChain where they are ready to take action … we’re telling all of these companies, now is the time to make job security agreements with your workforce, âsaid Mr. Kaine.
“So come with us in partnership all the way to Canberra to Scott Morrison’s office to tell the Prime Minister you are missing out on action, you must act to fix the Amazon effect in Australia before it takes over our entire community. . “
Mr. Kaine assured that FedEx will continue to deliver essential goods throughout the strike.