On the eve of the Australia Day long weekend, travellers are being warned to expect disruptions at major airports as more than 1000 ground workers strike.

Workers hired by aviation services company Dnata today began walking off the job for four hours at Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne airports in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

While Qantas domestic services won’t be affected, the airline says contingencies are in place for its international flights from Sydney Airport.

But 20 other major global carriers including Emirates, Singapore, Japan Airlines and Delta are expected to be impacted.

The national secretary of the Transport Workers Union, Michael Kaine, told Today this morning taking industrial action was a “last resort”.

“There will be disruptions today. That’s the nature of industrial action. There’ll be disruptions at Sydney Airport, at Melbourne Airport, at Brisbane Airport, and there’ll be flight delays.

“These workers are saying enough is enough. They want to make sure they’ve got a fair shake for themselves and their families.”

Workers from Dnata, part of Dubai’s Emirates Group, had negotiated with the company for a year over improvements in pay and conditions, Kaine said.

“They are owed improvements in their pay and conditions from June last year, and they’ve said enough is enough, and they’ve taken the very brave step of taking industrial action to get a better deal for themselves and their families.”

Qantas only contracts Dnata for ground handling for its international operations at Sydney airport.

The airline said contingency plans and resources were available to support its international operations from Sydney.