Quarantine, food checkers on strike

Hundreds of biosecurity and quarantine officers have walked off the job for 24 hours as part of the public sector union's campaign of rolling strikes.

Airports, shipping terminals, ports and international mail centres are all affected by the strike by workers who check food and produce coming into the country.

The one-day strike is part of the Community and Public Sector Union's two-year battle with the federal government to retain pay and work conditions for Commonwealth workers.

The union is challenging an order in the Fair Work Commission preventing border force and custom officials from taking industrial action for three months.