Hundreds of Immigration and Border Force staff are expected to begin walking off the job on Monday, as part of two weeks of rolling industrial action following failed workplace negotiations with the Federal Government.
Australia's international airports, cruise ship terminals and cargo facilities will see rolling stoppages over the next two weeks, as workers walk off the job in 30-minute blocks.
Strikes may occur at any airport, cruise ship terminal or cargo facility at any time during the day or nightCPSU Statement
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said the rolling stoppages come after more than 1000 days of failed negotiations with the Federal Government.
"These workers are trying to get government to take this seriously and give us someone to sit down with and resolve this longstanding mess," CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood told the ABC.
"Under Prime Minister Turnbull they haven't talked to us in a year."
More than 80 per cent of the staff from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) voted in March against an agreement which would have seen certain rights and conditions stripped in exchange for a pay rise of just one per cent per year, the union said.
Border force strikes expected to delay travellers heading overseas. https://t.co/L3qy1u9Sqy#7Newshttps://t.co/z21WhkTbUC
— 7 News Queensland (@7NewsQueensland) September 25, 2016
The Department of Immigration issued a statement last week -- when it was notified of the action -- saying it "flies in the face of this bargaining process and represents an unreasonable and unwarranted escalation at a time the Department is looking to find consensus".
"The design of this action is such that it is likely to create unreasonable levels of disruption and uncertainty across critical functions of the Department and will most likely limit the Australian Border Force's ability to mitigate threats and risks at the border."
Border Force postponed the industrial action earlier this year in the wake of the Brussels terror attack.