Will Border Force strikes affect your Easter holiday plans?
Industrial action at Australian airports threatens to disrupt Easter long weekend travel plans.
Your Easter holiday plans could be in jeopardy as the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) plans to go on strike.
The official strike, which includes thousands of CPSU members across a raft of Government services such as Medicare and Centrelink, will begin on the Monday leading up to the Easter long weekend, 21 March 2016.
The strike is in reaction to the oft-criticised Australian Government Public Sector Workplace Bargaining Policy and will go ahead unless the Turnbull Government agrees to sit down and discuss fixing the policy immediately.
How does this affect those travelling through the Easter weekend?
The problem facing travellers begins on Thursday 24 March 2016. Border Force officers and other staff in the Department of Immigration and Border Protection are threatening to walk off the job on that day. This could have a devastating impact on international airports, freight terminals and other sites.
A spokesperson for the CPSU, Nadine Flood, said that the strike is a demonstration of the frustration felt by its members, many of whom have not received an increase in the pay since 2013.
Can I make a claim with my insurer?
If your travel is affected during the Easter long weekend period, since the strike is on the books, it may throw your ability to make a claim up into the air.
Generally, circumstances outside of your control such as bad weather and industrial action, are usually considered valid grounds for a claim. However, as this is a planned strike insurers could get nasty and say that as this was a known event you won't be able to make a claim. Another consideration that insurers take into account is when you bought your travel insurance policy.
Click here for a full analysis of how travel insurance brands in Australia treat strikes and industrial action.
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