The Transport Workers Union of Australia has today written letters to the Vietnamese Government and their ambassador in Australia to inform them of the Union’s intent to investigate alleged safety breaches by Australian airlines operating out of Vietnam.

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TWU national secretary, Tony Sheldon, said he would also be requesting Jetstar Pacific, the company at the centre of the international aviation scandal, to allow the TWU access to the staff members, including those who blew the whistle on the maintenance breeches.

“The TWU has been investigating the Qantas group of companies for alleged safety breeches for a number of months now and a meeting of delegates and employees from the company yesterday called on us to go to Vietnam and see what is going on,” Mr Sheldon said.

“We have spoken to representatives from the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association who have agreed to be part of the delegation and have a look for themselves at the maintenance issues, as well as claims of unfair dismissals being carried out against whistleblowers.

“We have spoken to the International Transport Federation, who are fully supporting this investigation. The Unions want to investigate how a Qantas subsidiary is behaving overseas, and whether or not they are flouting international aviation safety laws. Our members have also asked us to look into whether or not Vietnamese, Australian and International Labor Organisation standards are being followed.

“It is well known in Australia that the labour practices of airlines in the Australian baggage handling areas have caused back injuries from lifting heavy loads in confined places. In fact, a survey conducted in the area recently showed that almost 40 per cent of baggage handlers had lost work time due to a workplace injury – with even higher rates in contracted work.

“Australian baggage handlers want to ensure that in the outsourcing of baggage handling, their Vietnamese counterparts are not being short-changed by management’s arrogance. On top of their announcement of doing
business with Air Asia last week, the Qantas group of companies have also been engaged in assisting the military junta in Burma when many countries, including the European Union, refuse to allow its companies to prop up the regime.

“If the Vietnamese government agrees to our request, we will also be inviting an independent observer to be a part of the delegation,” Mr Sheldon said.