BRISBANE — Queensland Department of Boating and Fisheries Patrol staff struck for 24 hours on September 17. The patrol workers, members of the Queensland Public Sector Union, are negotiating an enterprise agreement and protesting the lack of entitlements and recognition for work in remote locations and on weekends.
The dispute involves 125 workers who patrol the states' seas, and inland rivers and mangroves. They often have to camp in remote areas infested with mosquitos, yet there are no allowances for these hardships. A 48-hour stop-work will be held on September 23-24 if the government does not agree to the workers' demands.
Andrew Martin