Thousands of FedEx workers were authorised to stop work for two hours on Friday as a bargaining dispute widened beyond wages into a fight about job security, contracted delivery work and who gets a say when artificial intelligence and automation change freight jobs.
The Transport Workers’ Union said nearly 4,000 workers gained the legal right to take protected industrial action after 91 per cent voted in favour. Stoppages were organised at FedEx facilities in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
The union alleged FedEx had refused to guarantee protections against AI and automation and was moving work to contracted drivers paid on piece rates. It also alleged workers taking the two-hour action would be locked out for the remainder of the day. Those are TWU claims.
FedEx did not answer WWTG’s detailed questions about proposed AI clauses, contractor protections, consultation, redeployment or retraining. In a statement attributable to a FedEx spokesperson, the company said it was grateful that “the vast majority of our team members chose to continue working to deliver for our customers across our network”.
“Our priority remains achieving an outcome that is fair for our people, supports workplace safety and job security, and ensures the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of our Australian business,” the spokesperson said.
FedEx said it had put forward a competitive and comprehensive offer and remained focused on reaching a fair and sustainable agreement while maintaining reliable customer service.
Automation is not separate from work design
The disagreement matters beyond one enterprise agreement. Freight automation is often presented as a technical question: can software sort the parcel, schedule the route, supervise the depot or drive the vehicle?
For workers and operators, the practical questions begin after the demonstration succeeds. Who must be consulted before a task is automated? What happens to the employee currently doing it? Is that person retrained for a secure technical or supervisory role, or is the remaining work transferred to a contractor carrying more risk and less bargaining power?
Automation can remove repetitive and dangerous tasks. It can also centralise control, intensify performance monitoring and make it easier to divide a stable job into smaller pieces of work. The outcome depends on the rules surrounding the technology, not only the capability of the machine.
The questions FedEx did not answer
WWTG asked FedEx whether it was seeking to introduce AI or automation during the proposed agreement, what worker consultation would occur, whether employees would receive retraining or redeployment protections, and whether work would be shifted to contractors or labour-hire workers.
The company’s statement addresses its broad bargaining position but not those specific questions. The TWU, meanwhile, publicised its claims and the industrial action but did not provide WWTG with the requested clause-level comparison between FedEx and agreements reached with other major transport employers.
That leaves the central policy issue unresolved.
AI and automation will change freight work. The bargaining question is whether workers help design that transition before decisions are locked in, and whether productivity gains support safer, more secure jobs or accelerate the transfer of risk to people with the least power to manage it.
Reporting note: WWTG sought comment from both FedEx and the TWU. FedEx supplied the statement quoted above. Claims about piece rates, lockouts and the company’s bargaining position are attributed to the TWU where FedEx did not confirm them. Checked 31 August 2026.