THE Community and Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association (CPSU/CSA), has challenged the Department of Agriculture and Food's (DAFWA) decision to cut the number of dog handlers performing quarantine duties at Perth's domestic airport.
In a bid to reverse the decision, CPSU/CSA took the matter to the WA Industrial Relations Commission with a hearing last week.
As reported in the June 22 issue of Farm Weekly, DAFWA made the decision to halve the number of dog handlers performing quarantine duties from eight to four, effective from July 1.
The decision was expected to see the domestic airport devoid of quarantine inspections after 8pm and on weekends, increasing the risk of prohibited insects, animal pests, plants, diseases and weeds making their way into WA.
While the move to axe the handlers has been put on hold due to the Industrial Relations Commission hearing, a spokesperson from CPSU/CSA said if the government was serious about biosecurity it would focus on night flights as well, rather than trying to save money.
The spokesperson said the application to the Industrial Relations Commission alleges DAFWA had breached the Notification of Change clause, in the 1992 Public Service Award.
The CPSU/CSA alleges DAFWA had failed to notify employees or the union about who may be affected by the proposed changes and said it would be pushing for the positions to remain in place.
CPSU/CSA Branch secretary Toni Walkington said the union didn't understand the logic behind the decision, particularly with record numbers of people flying into Perth every week.
"We know there is funding for two extra staff at the Eucla checkpoint which is recognition that quarantine is a high priority, so why are they cutting resources at the airport?" she said.
A spokesperson from DAFWA said it was inappropriate to comment on the matters before the industrial commission, and reiterated the comments made to Farm Weekly in the June 22 article on detector dog numbers at the Perth domestic airport.
"DAFWA is looking at a targeted approach to detector dog inspections, which is likely to result in up to four less dog handlers but the same number of dogs," the spokesperson said.
"The detector dog team will target most passengers from those States and Territories that pose the greatest risk.
"The proposed approach will lead to having fewer operating hours for the dogs at the Perth airport but by taking a risk-based approach, the risk of diseases entering will be minimised.
"It will include targeted inspections after hours and on weekends."
