The union asked four questions - Airservices Australia liked none of the answers
Australia's air traffic controllers will not receive redundancy-style severance if they cannot - or will not - obtain a new national security clearance, the Fair Work Commission has determined.
The October 20 decision sided with Airservices Australia on every one of the four questions the controllers' union, Civil Air, had put to the Commission. The answer to each was the same: no.
The dispute turns on a major operational shift. Airservices Australia is rolling out CMATS, a new integrated civil and military air traffic management system. Once it goes live, controllers will handle classified information far more often than they do now - and every air traffic controller covered by the enterprise agreement will need a national security clearance. Right now, only some hold one.
Getting cleared is no small ask. Applicants must hand over employment, financial, travel and education history. Background checks run through an ASIO assessment and a financial-probity review. Higher clearance levels add a psychological assessment. Applicants may also be asked about intimate relationships, sexuality, drug and alcohol use, and government contacts. Non-citizens face an additional hurdle: a Citizenship Eligibility Waiver, valid for just 12 months.
Some controllers do not want to go through with it. Others may not qualify. The union wanted to know: if those employees are terminated, are they entitled to...
This article was also published in REDESCover, DDIA’s weekly newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get the next edition delivered straight to your inbox. With just over two weeks until the Novem...