Strike action by Border Force and Immigration officers at Australia's international airports has been timed for Easter for maximum impact, their union says.
The Community and Public Sector Union says the rolling stoppages at airports from Tuesday are part of a long-running industrial dispute with the federal government over work conditions.
"Immigration, border force and other airport workers are deliberately picking a time when it will have an impact and get attention," CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood told reporters in Sydney.
"Because nothing else seems to have got the government's attention in the last six months."
Ms Flood said commonwealth agencies were threatening to scrap "family friendly" rights that could see employees forced to work anywhere at any time.
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She said working mums, who juggle daycare, could be asked to work different hours on different days, and up to 10 hours in split shifts on any one day.
"They just can't do that and pick up the kids - it's not real world," she said.
Ms Flood said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had ignored the union's offer of talks and she warned that industrial action at airports could drag on for weeks.
"Those strikes can be averted at any point if the government is prepared to actually sit down and come up with a sensible solution," she said.
The CPSU expected thousands of public servants at Medicare, Centrelink, the Tax Office, Defence, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Bureau of Statistics to strike for 24 hours on Monday.
Immigration and Border Protection officers are expected to walk off the job for 24 hours on Thursday.
Airline passengers are urged to contact their carrier for information and to allow extra time for international departures and arrivals.
