FedEx parcel deliveries across Australia could face disruption this week, with almost 4,000 workers preparing to stop work as part of a wider industrial campaign across the transport and logistics sector.

The Transport Workers’ Union has notified FedEx that drivers, warehouse employees and dock workers will hold two-hour stoppages on Friday. The union has also warned that further industrial action could follow if negotiations fail to produce an improved agreement.

The dispute centres on job security, contracting arrangements and the growing use of artificial intelligence and automation in the logistics industry.

The TWU claims FedEx has not provided sufficient protections for employees against work being replaced or affected by AI and automation. It has also raised concerns about work being shifted to contracted drivers who are paid on piece rates.

According to the union, those arrangements can result in contractors being expected to deliver parcels at intervals of as little as four minutes.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said workers were seeking greater certainty around secure employment and workplace safety, while maintaining that negotiations with FedEx could still resolve the dispute.

The planned action marks the latest escalation in negotiations after FedEx employees rejected the company’s proposed workplace agreement. The union says the offer did not include the protections it is seeking around outsourcing and AI.

FedEx has previously said its proposed agreement provided competitive employment conditions while balancing the long-term sustainability of the company.

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The delivery company has also said it supports minimum standards for contractors across the transport sector and has participated in Fair Work Commission proceedings and industry discussions concerning those standards.

The dispute comes as the TWU negotiates agreements across a much broader section of Australia’s transport industry. The union has aligned the expiry of about 220 workplace agreements during the current quarter, spanning businesses involved in parcel delivery, airlines, waste collection and other transport operations.

In-principle agreements have already been reached with Linfox, Team Global Express and BevChain, with those deals providing wage increases of between 10 per cent and 11 per cent over three years.

The union has also indicated that its proposed agreement with Team Global Express could become the first collective agreement to include owner drivers.

FedEx has faced significant industrial action before. Workers conducted three rounds of stoppages during 2021, with the action affecting parcel deliveries as the busy Christmas shopping period approached.

The immediate impact of Friday’s two-hour stoppages on Australian deliveries remains unclear, but businesses and consumers relying on FedEx could experience delays if the dispute develops into longer or more frequent industrial action.

With parcel delivery now critical to online retail and supply chains, any escalation could have wider implications for retailers and other businesses dependent on time-sensitive deliveries.