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Aussie border protection staff banned from stike action over national security fears

Xinhua, April 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australian border force personnel have been banned from striking for three months, following government concerns the industrial action could put the public in danger.

On Wednesday, the Australian Fair Work Commission found that by going on strike in the wake of deadly terror attacks in France and Belgium, members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) would be putting the public at risk.

Fair Work commissioner Nick Wilson said that as the "front line" to Australia's war on terror, Australia's immigration, security and border protection staff need to be on heightened alert and not be risking the lives of everyday travelers.

Wilson added that "the capacity of the Australian Border Force (ABF) to undertake its core functions (would be) seriously affected" and potential terrorists could "exploit" the industrial action as a time to strike.

"It becomes foreseeable that criminal or terrorist opportunistic behaviors become more likely as a result, since systemic weaknesses can be more easily identified and exploited," Wilson said Wednesday.

"The evidence shows this risk is not merely foreseeable, but that such behavior more than likely occurred within the recent period of protected industrial action."

Previously, members of the CPSU agreed to temporarily put on hold their industrial action in the wake of the Belgian airport bombing, but the decision on Wednesday means they will not be allowed to strike for at least a further 90 days. Endit