A glass-plate working apparatus in which a plurality of processing positions equipped with glass-plate supporting portions (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) for supporting glass plates are respectively arranged at intervals, and which has a transporting device for transferring the glass plates each from said glass-plate supporting portion (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) at one processing position (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d) to said glass-plate supporting portion (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) at another processing position (20b, 20c, 20d, 20e), said transporting device including a moving base which reciprocates between one processing position (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d) and the other processing position (20b, 20c, 20d, 20e), a pair of suction pads respectively mounted on said moving base in correspondence with said glass-plate supporting portions (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) at each of the processing positions (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) by means of a lifting device (81, 82, 83, 84), and a transport control motor for reciprocally moving the moving base, each of the glass plates being adapted to be transported from one processing positions (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d) to the other processing positions (20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) on the reciprocating movement of said moving base by the transport control motor, the raising and lowering of said pair of suction pads by said lifting device (81, 82, 83, 84), and the suction and releasing of the glass plate by said pair of suction pads, characterized in that, said lifting device (81, 82, 83, 84) has a pair of slide units arranged on both sides and adapted to respectively hold the pair of suction pads linearly liftably; a coupler for coupling two slide shafts of the pair of slide units on both sides; a rack-and-pinion device consisting of a meshing combination of a rack erected on an upper surface of this coupler and a pinion gear meshing with this rack; and a servo motor on which this pinion gear is mounted to drive this pinion gear for raising and lowering said pair of suction pads under numerical control, said lifting device (81, 82, 83, 84) causing said pair of suction pads to undergo raising and lowering movement under numerical control by linear movement of the pair of suction pads produced by the meshing between said rack and said pinion gear which rotates by being coupled to said servo motor, said pair of suction pads being attached to a lower surface of the coupler and, said servo motor for raising and lowering and the transport control motor for transporting movement of the glass plate being simultaneously controlled so that glass plates are raised up from the one processing positions (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d) by means of the pair of suction pads during the transporting movement of the glass plates, the raised up glass plates are gradually lowered down toward the other processing portions (20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) as the raised up glass plates approach the other processing positions (20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) for delivery of the glass plate, and the pair of suction pads are positioned accurately to a minimum heightwise position required toward the other processing positions (20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) when the raised up glass plates reach the other processing positions (20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) for delivery of the glass plate.