Airports around Australia have been hit with significant delays as immigration and border force workers went on strike during peak hours to protest pay cuts.
Monday marked the first of at least 10 days of strike action that will occur for two hours in the morning and evening at eight Australian airports.
There have been reports of significant delays at Sydney, Perth and Cairns airports, Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Nadine Flood says.
"We've had reports from Sydney Airport of up to 500 people in the departures hall," Ms Flood told AAP.
"Staff who returned to work tell us there were delays of up to 90 minutes.
"That's unfortunate, but these staff feel they have no option other than take more serious strike action."
Australian Border Force have flown in hundreds of managers around the country and put them up in hotels so they can do frontline work and cover the strike action, Ms Flood says.
"In our view, it would be a better use of everyone's time to sit down and resolve this dispute, but that takes government coming to the table," she said.
The immigration and border force workers are part of a larger cost dispute with the federal government that impacts 160,000 people.
However, Ms Flood says the immigration and border force workers are being hit hardest.
There is an "incredible" proposition to cut their existing take-home pay by $8000 a year, she says.
"These are mums and dads who are worried about paying their bills," Ms Flood said.
The strikes impact airports and ports, as well as cargo, container and mail facilities.
Other commonwealth government agencies, including Centrelink, Medicare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, are also set to take a half-day strike this Thursday.
The CPSU is seeking talks with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's new Employment Minister Michaelia Cash to resolve the industrial dispute.
Ms Flood said the former minister Eric Abetz refused to come to the table for 18 months despite delivering a "draconian" bargaining policy.
The strikes kicked off at 4am in Cairns and have been held at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and the Gold Coast.
AIRPORT STOPPAGES ON MONDAY
* Sydney (7am-9am and 7pm-9pm)
* Melbourne Tullamarine (5am-7am and 9pm-11pm)
* Brisbane (7am-9am and 7pm-9pm)
* Gold Coast (6.40am-8.40am and 7pm-9pm)
* Cairns (4am-6am and 6pm-8pm)
* Adelaide (6.30am-8.30am and 8pm-10pm)
* Perth (5.30am-7.30am and 5pm-7pm)
* Darwin (4.30am-6.30am and 5pm-7pm)
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