Close to 48 domestic flights have been canceled as ground staff and baggage handlers walk off the job for 24 hours.
The Transport Workers' Union is calling for a guaranteed 12 hour break between shifts, increased rest breaks, annual wage rises of four per cent, and a guaranteed 30 hour work week.
Speaking to the ABC, the TWU's national secretary Michael Kaine says the issue is not about pay.
"This is about hours for these workers. We got some workers who are working 340 days every year. Now that destroys family life and it means that these workers are struggling to pay their bills, and this is not a difficult dispute to resolve. There are plenty of hours available. The company comes back to the table and negotiates genuinely with this work force about getting some of those hours into the guaranteed column. That's what these workers need for their financial security."
Strikes are taking place across airports in Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns, Adelaide, Brisbane and Avalon.
