The FAAA has extended the tentacles of its SJSP test case against Qantas labour suppliers, bringing an application against a third labour hire company, while the parallel test case against BHP Coal has been pushed back after unions sought extra time for their submissions.
The TWU has begun multi-employer bargaining with aviation ground-handling operators, as unions continue to make use of the Albanese Government's new IR laws.
FWC President Adam Hatcher will conduct a directions hearing next Thursday to tackle two FAAA "same-job, same-pay" claims on behalf of Qantas labour hire cabin crew engaged via Maurice Alexander Management and one of the airline's many subsidiaries.
The MEU has filed 10 "same-job, same-pay" applications targeting BHP coal mines in Queensland, seeking to lift the pay of about 1700 labour hire workers by between $10,000 and $40,000 a year and stamp out a model that has "spread like a cancer" in the industry.
The FAAA says the Qantas response to its first "same-job, same-pay" claims on behalf of domestic labour hire cabin crew will say "an awful lot" about the leadership of new chief executive Vanessa Hudson, as the union foreshadows more applications to come.
Qantas decided to outsource about 1700 ground crew during the pandemic "come hell or high water", according to the Federal Court judge hearing the union compensation claim for the former employees.
The FWC has transferred workers from BHP's in-house labour hire arm to direct employment with the new owners of a former BHP Coal mine, finding it "consistent" with the intent of the Fair Work Act's new "same-job, same-pay" protections.
The FWC has rejected an employer's claim that a company secretary's "time limited" contract merely expired, finding it gave her no choice but to give up her permanent role by making an offer "infected with misrepresentation, misleading conduct and duress".
The FWC has reduced the redundancy entitlements of five former employees of online trading platform Bartercard after they refused new positions requiring them to work exclusively from home and to fork out the full cost of setting up an appropriate space.
