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TRANSCRIPT
United Voice Victoria Branch Submission
Victorian Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Recommendations.................................................................................................................................3
Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................4
The prevalence of labour hire and subcontracting in United Voice industries......................................7
Who are labour hire and subcontracted workers?............................................................................7
Labour hire and subcontracting in manufacturing industries............................................................8
Labour hire and subcontracting in the private security industry.......................................................9
Labour hire and subcontracting in the cleaning industry.................................................................11
Labour hire and subcontracting in the hospitality industry.............................................................12
The use of labour hire and contracting as cheap replacement labour................................................13
The high incidence of exploitation arising from labour hire and subcontracting................................17
Avoidance of responsibility..............................................................................................................17
Small players....................................................................................................................................18
Contractual obfuscation..................................................................................................................19
Compliance problems......................................................................................................................20
The race to the bottom........................................................................................................................22
The regulation of exploitative work practices arising from labour hire and subcontracting...............22
State Government inspectorate......................................................................................................22
Licensing..........................................................................................................................................23
Record keeping................................................................................................................................24
Federal Government reform............................................................................................................25
Procurement....................................................................................................................................25
Appendix A – United Voice Member Stories.......................................................................................27
1
Introduction
United Voice Victoria welcomes the opportunity to make a submission on behalf of our members to the
Victorian Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work.
United Voice is a union of workers across Australia organising to win better jobs, stronger communities, a
fairer society and a sustainable future. We represent people working in a diverse range of industries
including cleaning, security, early childhood education and care, hospitality, and manufacturing.
United Voice Victoria has coverage of workers who are affected by labour hire and insecure work across a
range of industries.
In recent years we have observed the use of labour hire, contracting and subcontracting arrangements
evolve and increase. Labour hire is no longer used as a temporary supplement to permanent work and is
now often used as ongoing cheap labour, replacing permanent work. This growing labour hire and
subcontracting market has resulted in an increase in the exploitation of vulnerable workers, where legal
obligations are often unmet and attempts at compliance are ignored or evaded. As a result workers are
left insecure and exploited while in many industries a race to the bottom ensues as businesses are forced
to compete for work at lower and lower standards.
Across Victoria, United Voice has thousands of members who are affected by insecure work, sham
contracting, unregulated subcontracting and labour hire arrangements. As those that are among the
worst affected by the financial and social impacts of the current insecure work crisis, our members
appreciate the opportunity to ensure their opinions, ideas and experiences are considered as part of this
inquiry.
“My worries - what can be achieved in my struggle and job hunting which can be categorized as
secure. And I am constantly anxiety to get secure employment with some decent future prospects. It is
hard question because not set of rules and regulations. But to give maximum security of employment
and job prospects the prime minister needs to put himself in the same shoe to those who are suffering.
We need to make sure the laws bind companies to hire people direct-not sham- sub -contracting in the
name of pseudo cost-cut and else.
Navpreet Singh, security guard, company unknown
2
Recommendations
The Victorian Government should immediately create a permanent inspectorate located
within Industrial Relations Victoria to combat the growing incidence of exploitative work
practices arising from the use of labour hire and subcontracting.
The Victorian Government should immediately institute a licensing scheme covering
labour hire and subcontracting operators.
The Victorian Government should immediately institute a new requirement that
employers are obliged to keep records in relation to the engagement of all workers
through contracting or secondary contracting arrangements.
The Victorian Government should advocate for changes to Federal workplace law to limit
the growing incidence of exploitative work practices arising from labour hire and
subcontracting.
The Victorian Government should adopt whole-of-Government policies to ensure that
labour hire and subcontracting is properly regulated in relation to the procurement of
State Government goods and services.
3
Executive Summary
The use of labour hire and subcontracting is growing in many industries.
In United Voice industries like manufacturing, security, cleaning and hospitality, the use of
labour hire and subcontracting arrangements is growing at a rapid rate.
Labour hire and subcontracting workers are usually engaged on minimum rates of pay and
conditions. The rates applied to these workers are sometimes the legal minimum prescribed
by the relevant Award, however it is often the case that these workers are paid well below
the legal minimum that should be applied.
Labour hire and subcontracted workers have low levels of job security: they usually can’t
access job-security protections like notice on termination, redundancy, long service leave or
unfair dismissal.
Labour hire and subcontracting workers are usually engaged on a casual basis. A casual
subcontractor is one of the most insecure forms of worker engagement.
Labour hire is increasingly being used as a source of cheap replacement labour for what
were previously permanent, stable jobs.
While traditionally labour hire and subcontracting has been used to deal with short-term
fluctuations in labour demand, such as seasonal increases or special events, there is a
growing practice to use labour hire and subcontracting as a permanent source of cheap
replacement labour.
The use of labour hire and subcontracting to replace permanent, stable jobs can:
o have a detrimental effect on service delivery,
o result in manifest unfairness within industries and work-sites, with workers being paid
different rates of pay for doing the same job, and
o have a detrimental effect on safety standards for workers and the public.
Labour hire and subcontracting arrangements result in a higher than normal incidence of
exploitation and unlawful behaviour
Workers at the bottom of a labour supply chain involving labour hire and subcontracting are
often unlikely to be receiving their minimum legal entitlements.
4
Principal clients and contractors use labour hire and subcontracting to defer, avoid or ignore
legal responsibility for the way in which people performing work for them are treated.
In labour hire and subcontracting arrangements, legal responsibility for workers’ rights is
often delegated to small, short term, itinerant entities lacking in expertise and capacity to
comply with their legal obligations.
In labour hire and subcontracting arrangements, layers of contractual obfuscation confuse
and conceal legal responsibility and obligations.
The complexity of many labour hire and subcontracting arrangements results in severe
difficulties with enforcement and compliance.
Labour hire and subcontracting arrangements result in a race to the bottom
The use of labour hire and subcontracting arrangements as cheap replacement labour can
result in a cost advantage for employers who use the practice over competitors who chose to
retain more permanent, stable employment practices.
In industries where labour costs can be responsible for up to 70% of total expenses, the
pressure to compete with cut-price labour practices can be overwhelming. More and more
employers are being forced to abandon stable permanent jobs for insecure work practices,
just to try and compete for business.
The Victorian Government should take steps to limit the growing incidence of exploitative
work practices arising from the use of labour hire and subcontracting
The Victorian Government should immediately create a permanent inspectorate located
within Industrial Relations Victoria to combat the growing incidence of exploitative work
practices arising from the use of labour hire and subcontracting.
The Victorian Government should immediately institute a licensing scheme covering labour
hire and subcontracting operators.
The Victorian Government should immediately institute a new requirement that employers
are obliged to keep records in relation to the engagement of all workers through contracting
or secondary contracting arrangements.
5
The Victorian Government should advocate for changes to Federal workplace law to limit
the growing incidence of exploitative work practices arising from labour hire and
subcontracting.
The Victorian Government should adopt whole-of-Government policies to ensure that
labour hire and subcontracting is properly regulated in relation to the procurement of State
government goods and services.
6
The prevalence of labour hire and subcontracting in United Voice
industries
1. United Voice is a Union with very diverse industrial coverage. In a number of areas of our
coverage the use of work relationships traditionally referred to as “labour hire” is now
common.
2. These triangular relationships involve a “host” or “principal” engaging a supplier of labour
who engages people to work at the business of the principal. Those workers are not
employed by the principal – their employment relationship is with the supplier of labour (the
labour hire company).
3. In building and property services these work relationships are more commonly referred to
as “contracting”. In the security and cleaning industries, a triangular relationship where a
“contractor” provides labour to perform services for a host or principal is now very common.
In these industries, there is also a growing practice of “subcontracting” where a fourth entity
(the “subcontractor”) supplies workers to a contractor, who in turn supplies services to the
host or principal.
4. Similar arrangements have also become very common in some areas of the hospitality
industry, where the same arrangement is often referred to as “agency staffing” or
“outsourcing”. For example, in the residential hotel sector, the room attendant function
(sometimes referred to as “housekeeping”) is commonly performed by an outside agency
labour provider.
Who are labour hire and subcontracted workers?
5. In United Voice industries, labour hire and subcontracting workers are usually engaged on
minimum rates and conditions (or in reality, below these minimum conditions). This means
these workers are usually covered by a relevant Modern Award and the National
Employment Standards (NES). Enterprise agreements, which might relate to the work being
performed by a labour hire or subcontracted worker, rarely extend to cover these workers,
and usually only applies to the principal employer and its directly engaged employees1.
6. Labour hire and subcontracted workers have low levels of job security. Common industrial
protections that support workers’ job security, such as the right to be given notice on
termination of employment, the right to be paid a redundancy payment if the job disappears,
1 The application and coverage of an enterprise agreement in relation to employers and their employees is governed by Subdivision D of Part 2-1 of Chapter 2 of the Fair Work Act 2009
7
or the right to make an unfair dismissal all lie against a worker’s direct employer. But labour
hire and subcontracted workers usually work on the premises of, and often under the control
of, a principal who is not their employer, and against whom they have limited rights. A
principal who unilaterally decides they no longer want a particular labour hire or
subcontracted person on their premises can usually give effect to that decision with almost
no regard for job security protections. A subcontractor often faces significant difficulties
complaining about the circumstances of their dismissal if it is caused by a decision of the
principal, even if it results in the end of their employment.
7. Labour hire and subcontracted workers are often engaged on a casual basis. This means they
are not entitled to annual leave or personal leave, but are entitled to a casual loading. Their
casual status, together with the fact that they are unlikely to be entitled to more advanced
safeguards for rosters that are often prescribed by enterprise agreements usually means this
is the most flexible and insecure form of employment relationship.
Labour hire and subcontracting in manufacturing industries
8. Traditionally, labour hire in manufacturing sectors has been used as a supplementary
workforce, usually engaged to cover seasonal fluctuations in demand. However in recent
times, labour hire in manufacturing is more commonly used as a semi-permanent flexible
workforce all year round.
9. For example at the Coca Cola Moorabbin site there are about 58 permanent workers and at
any given time there are up to 30 labour hire casuals performing the same functions as the
permanent workers. The circumstances of these workers engagements are:
a. They are not covered by the site enterprise agreement and earn around $21 per hour
compared to permanent wages on site of about $44 per hour.
b. There are significant numbers of individual casual workers who have been performing
this work at the site for a number of years, working more than 38 hours per week.
c. When permanent staff have left the site these jobs have not been replaced by a new
permanent staff member, but with casual labour hire staff.
10. During current enterprise bargaining at Coca Cola Moorabbin the employer has sought to
further increase the number of labour hire casuals on site through making almost all
permanent staff redundant and has proposed to replace all of these workers with labour hire
casual staff.
8
“The number of casuals already on site has had a significant impact on the ability for permanent workers to
secure their jobs throughout the negotiation process as well as putting downward pressure on the existing
permanent wages on site.
As an employee with over 20 years’ service at the site the number of permanent staff has reduced from
around 70 to 58 and in this time these jobs have been replaced by labour hire casual staff even though there
has been no change to the job.
Michael Vekic, Union delegate, Cocoa Cola Moorabbin
Labour hire and subcontracting in the private security industry
11. Private security services in Victoria are now almost entirely supplied by contract security
firms and there is a growing practice within the contract security industry to supplement
their directly employed labour force with the use of subcontracted labour.
12. For example while the security officers working at special events such as the Spring Racing
Carnival or the Melbourne Grand Prix may appear to be working for a single private security
company, these events are largely staffed by subcontractors – security officers who are
supplied by a separate labour hire contractor to work at the venue wearing the principal
contractor’s uniform and livery. Security officers working at large sporting and
entertainment venues, like AFL football grounds are also commonly subcontracted2.
13. However, where originally the growth of subcontracting in the security industry began in
special and sporting events, where fluctuations in labour demand can be more pronounced,
subcontracting is now being used in many areas of the industry that had traditionally
engaged a more permanent stable workforce. For example:
a. The Barwon Health Geelong Hospital and Barwon Health Grace McKellar Centre in
Geelong have private security supplied by Wilson Security, a well-known major provider
of security services in Australia. The contract requires about twelve security officers
(including a supervisor) to rotate between the two health facilities. However only one of
these officers is directly engaged by Wilson Security (the Supervisor). All of the
remaining eleven Guards are engaged through a subcontractor. These subcontracted
Guards, who are engaged by Security International Services, perform all of the required
security services, report to the Wilson Security supervisor, and are required to wear
Wilson Security uniforms. However, because security officers who are directly engaged
by Wilson Security are entitled to the benefits of an enterprise agreement – the United
2 In 2012 the Fair Work Ombudsman conducted an investigation into the provision of security services as the Melbourne Grand Prix. After conducting interviews with over 40 security officers, the Ombudsman found “a subcontracting pyramid of four levels, starting with MSS Security Pty Ltd at the top as level one” involving subcontracting to “six companies”, resulting in letters of caution issued to several of those companies.
9
Voice and Wilson Security Safeguard Enterprise Agreement 2014 - the subcontracted
security officers, who are not entitled to the terms of this agreement can earn
approximately $500.00 per fortnight less than their directly engaged counterparts:
I have been working in the security industry 12 or 13 years. I have been at the Geelong hospital for a long
time. When the contract changed to Wilson Security I had no choice but to become a subbie. The hospital
wanted the cost savings of using us as subcontractors.
I would prefer to be directly employed by Wilson – in fact I am actually applying to work directly for Wilson
at other sites right now.
The problem with being a subbies is that you don’t get enough training, you only get one day. The other
problem is that I get less money. Some of the guys are not even being paid their super.
Security Guard 1, Subcontracted Guard working at Barwon Health Geelong Hospital
b. In 2014, private security firm Business Risk International took over the contract to
provide security officers to staff the National Gallery of Victoria International, in St Kilda
Road Melbourne, and the National Gallery of Victoria Australia, at Federation Square.
Taken together about 130 security officers are engaged to safeguard the priceless
artworks on the premises, and the thousands of patrons who visit the galleries every
day. Prior to 2014, Wilson Security had been responsible to provide security services to
these sites. About the same number of security officers were engaged during this period,
almost all of whom were directly engaged employees of Wilson Security. Many of these
officers had worked at the galleries for in excess of ten years. Since the change of
contract, there has been a considerable increase in the number of security officers
working at the Galleries engaged through a subcontractor. About one third of the guards
that work at the Galleries are now subcontracted.
I have worked at the National Gallery as a Guard for twelve years. Working at the Gallery means looking
after the public, as well as looking after the assets of the Gallery.
Prior to BRI winning the contract, for the last ten years the Guards working at this site have almost always
been employed directly by the contractor. Since the contract change, I have seen more and more
subcontractors now working at the site. It is hard to know who exactly is a subcontracted Guard as they
work alongside us.
We do an important job and it is vital to have consistent and experienced Guards to make sure the Gallery
and public are safe.
I am concerned that more and more jobs will be subcontracted out and I will eventually lose my job.
Security Guard 2, Directly employed Guard at the National Gallery of Victoria
10
Labour hire and subcontracting in the cleaning industry
14. The use of subcontracted cleaners is common in every area of the contract cleaning industry.
It is more common than not that the cleaners in a particular location or venue, all of whom
will present as working for a particular cleaning company, will in fact be a mixture of directly
engaged employees, employees of subcontracted labour hire (often more than one provider)
and even workers engaged on purported independent contracting arrangements.
15. As in the security industry, stable, long term cleaning jobs are being replaced with
subcontracting across all areas of the industry, including cleaning at retail premises, office
cleaning, and special events cleaning. For example:
a. The various premises that make up Melbourne University require a cleaning workforce
of about 120 cleaners. Prior to January 2015, cleaning services were provided by GJK
Facility Services who directly employed the cleaning workforce. Changes in the
contractual arrangements at the beginning of 2015 mean that the services are now
provided by different cleaning providers. About forty of the 120 cleaning jobs have
become subcontracted.
b. After changes to the cleaning contract at Crown Casino in recent years nearly half of the
cleaning roles have become subcontracted positions.
c. A change in contract at the Werribee Plaza which took place in early 2015 resulted in the
new contractor – Millennium Services Group – shifting nearly half the cleaning positions
to a subcontracting arrangement.
16. In the cleaning industry, there is also a growing tendency to attempt to engage workers on
exploitative sham contracting arrangements. In these circumstances, the subcontracting
agency will require the workers they engage to hold an Australian Business Number (ABN)
before, or at the time of, their employment. They will then pay the workers a flat rate of pay,
without provision for leave entitlements, superannuation or PAYG taxation arrangements.
Sometimes, the worker will be required to sign a letter or a form “agreeing” to be treated as
an independent contractor. Despite these trappings, the rest of the engagement will bear all
the other hallmarks of an employment arrangement, including:
a. the worker will be required to wear the uniforms and badging of the primary contractor
or the client premises (such as the shopping centre or building owner),
b. the worker will utilise the materials and equipment provided by either the primary
contractor or subcontractor, and
11
c. the worker will be required to directly report to, and be supervised by, a direct employee
of the primary contractor. 3
I was contracting with an ABN to one employer more than a year ago. I was ridiculously underpaid, I use to
work seven days a week, about five hours daily and I had to pay petrol as well on their truck. Additionally I
didn't have sick days, superannuation or even holidays. This company is called BCS Cleaning managed by
Carlo Audish. I had a car accident because of the car and bad conditions. If I take one day off I could lose my
job.
I was concerned about my health, so I decided to quit the job. This happened in the cleaning industry. I
would make harder laws against people like that because they're making heaps of money and avoiding good
manners with their employees.
Cleaner 1, site unknown
I was contracting with an ABN one employer only in my current job. I am getting a flat rate. I have spoken to
my employer about penalty rates but no concern was given to it. I am also getting pay on ABN. I have also
spoken about this concern but no seriousness was given to it. I don't know how many hours I will get next
week. There is no proper roster in place. Even if I get a roster on a weekly basis most of time it keeps on
changing on a daily basis. When I say no as I have family commitments they reduce my hours for next week.
It’s been a long time I am working with this company and everyday dealing is very exhausting to me and my
family. Sometimes they woke me up at middle of night where I had just slept 3 hour ago and told me to cover
this shift. Didn't have courtesy to ask that I am available. I am only tolerating this behaviour at the end I
need to pay my bills. I would introduce strict laws related to subcontracting labour, so that we can get jobs
from company directly and treat fairly.
Cleaner 2, site unknown
Labour hire and subcontracting in the hospitality industry
17. Over the past decade, the hotels industry has experienced a rapid transformation in the
provision of guest services or what is often described as “housekeeping”: the cleaning and
maintenance of residential hotel rooms. The provision of these services within four and five
star hotels in Melbourne is now almost exclusively undertaken by outside providers.
18. In years gone by, room attendants were more often direct employees of the hotel. They
enjoyed relatively stable employment and the coverage of enterprise bargaining agreements
where they applied. It is now unusual to find room attendants engaged directly: most are
now labour hire casuals, engaged on minimum conditions.
3 Section 357 of the Fair Work Act 2009 prohibits and employer from misrepresenting employment as an independent contracting arrangement.
12
19. The shift has come on the back of aggressive marketing by hospitality labour hire providers
advertising the cost savings and benefits of the flexible workforce they provide. One of the
biggest providers, AHS Hospitality advertises on its web-site that:
“With AHS Hospitality, you only pay for the services you need, when you need them. This
workforce flexibility enables us to manage the workload for you - with more team members
during busy periods and fewer during the quiet. It's that simple.
Every year, we save our clients between 5% and 20% on their accommodation costs. Our pricing
structure is unique. We provide you with a standard cost per occupied room, making it easy for
you to budget for room servicing and ensuring you have no guest service budget overruns,
regardless of occupancy. Our prices include all associated on-costs and operating costs.”4
20. The Crown Towers, operated by Crown Casino, is one of Melbourne’s premier five-star
Hotels. A group of about 70 room attendants were traditionally been responsible for the
housekeeping services at this venue. These employees were covered by the Crown Melbourne
Limited Enterprise Agreement 2013 (and its predecessors) and paid significantly above the
Award minimum rates of pay. In early 2015, Crown made a decision to outsource these jobs,
to an external provider. These workers are now employed as labour hire employees on
minimum rates. All of the housekeeping services at Crown’s three hotels are now outsourced
to third party providers.
The use of labour hire and contracting as cheap replacement labour
21. Traditionally, labour hire was used to deal with short-term fluctuations in labour demand,
such as a seasonal increase or special event. But in many United Voice industries, labour hire
and subcontracting is now used a permanent source of cheap replacement labour.
22. It is usually cheaper to engage labour hire or subcontracted workers. They are almost always
engaged on minimum employment entitlements. They are commonly casual and not entitled
to leave or regular hours of work. Administrative and managerial savings might also be
derived by passing some of these costs on to the labour hire entity itself. Where the work
involved may have traditionally been performed by permanent workers covered by an
enterprise agreement, labour hire and contracting is always cheaper.
23. And where labour hire and subcontracting is used to shield exploitative employment
practices (as is described below), the cost of labour is even cheaper again.
4 http://www.ahshospitality.com.au/page/our-services/why-outsource/
13
24. The growth in these types of employment arrangements is a concern. The Report of the
Independent Inquiry into Insecure Work in Australia found that the impact of the growth in
insecure work arrangements impacts on workers and their families manifests in a range of
ways, including:
a. workers are less likely to raise health and safety concerns, accept poor conditions and
face greater risks of injury and illness,
b. severe impacts on financial independence and housing affordability,
c. serious health impacts and the likelihood of a widening health inequalities
d. impacts on the education system, and
e. lost tax revenue and failure to provide properly for superannuation and retirement
planning.5
25. Obviously the use of labour hire and subcontracting is not unlawful. However, the use of
these work relationships to replace permanent, directly employed workers can cause
significant problems to the delivery, fairness and safety of services and their growth should
be of concern to Governments and the community generally.
26. In instances where permanent positions are filled by a revolving door of subcontracted
employees, the quality of services are undermined as these subcontracted workers are often
unfamiliar with the specific requirements of the role or site. This results in inconsistent
service delivery where continuous training and high degrees of supervision is required to
ensure the ever-changing workforce are able to complete these permanent roles.
27. There is clearly a manifest unfairness when third party workers are not being engaged to
meet short-term fluctuating demand or to provide a specialist service but rather to replace
directly employed workers doing exactly the same job for less pay. This should be a concern
to the community in general. For example:
a) At the Coca Cola Moorabbin site labour hire employees are being systematically used to
replace permanent labour. This trend of replacing permanent jobs with labour hire
employees now sees 58 permanent workers working alongside approximately 30 labour
hire employees who are performing the same duties. Although these workers largely
perform the same role, labour hire employees earn half the rate of permanent staff .6
5 Lives on Hold: unlocking the potential of Australia’s workforce, Report of the Independent Inquiry into Insecure Work in Australia, (2012), p.20 - 216 Permanent employees currently earn $44.00 per hour while labour hire workers earn $21.00 per hour.
14
b) PPG is a paint production site of around 100 workers. This site is covered by an
enterprise agreement. As permanent staff have left the site these staff have been
replaced by labour hire casuals and as such to date approximately twenty per-cent of
workers are labour hire employees. The imbalance of earnings is again felt at this site as
permanent employees earn over $40 per hour while working alongside subcontractor
employees who earn between $20 and $23.
28. Replacing permanent jobs with insecure arrangements can also have a detrimental effect on
safety standards for workers and the public. At Tullamarine Airport, internal security
services are currently provided by MSS Security and ISS Facility Services. Working in aviation
security is a highly responsible and challenging job. Security workers manage vital security
processes at airports such as the screening of luggage, operating walk through and hand-held
metal detection systems, managing access controls for secure locations, and the operating of
control room services. It is imperative that security standards are continually maintained to
the highest quality.
29. Security services to the Qantas terminal and surrounding areas are provided by MSS
Security. MSS employs about 130 Guards to work across the various terminal locations. In
recent months, security officers have reported a growing incidence in the use of security
officers engaged through a subcontractor called Opel Security. There may now be more than
40 security officers engaged through this subcontractor in the Qantas terminal. These
subcontracted guards are primarily working at screening points and perform the same duties
as those guards directly employed by MSS. Of the total hours of work performed by guards at
the screening points, as many as about one third are worked by subcontracted guards.
“I met a new Guard in an MSS uniform and assumed he was an MSS Guard. But half way through a
conversation with him I found out that he was a subcontractor. They don’t seem to have a proper paper trail
for their rosters and they won’t tell you what they are paid. It is really dangerous.”
Security Guard 3, Airport Security Officer employed by directly contracted security company7
30. MSS’ claims that subcontracted security officers are only used to cover emergencies are
disputed by United Voice members, who claim these officers are used on a regular basis with
ongoing guaranteed hours of work.
“Subcontractors are not used for replacements like they should be. They are there regularly.”
Security Guard 4, Airport Security Officer employed by directly contracted security company8
7 Please note that some members’ quotes are taken from Security Guards working at interstate airports where subcontracted guards are engaged. As a result, this particular quote may be from an employee engaged at Victorian airport, or at an interstate airport. 8 Ibid
15
31. The use of subcontracted labour to replace secure, permanent jobs can result in breakdowns
in the quality and control of work, especially in positions of high accountability and
responsibility such as airport security.
“We are told by the company that the subcontractors are not their concern as they are out of their control,
but they are working at our site, alongside us in an MSS uniform, if they make a mistake how can it not be
MSS’ concern?”
Security Guard 5, Airport Security Officer employed by directly contracted security company9
“We are professionally, highly trained security guards. We have been doing this work a long time, and our
skill level is the absolute highest. We do training all the time and we get tested and assessed all the time. We
have continuous training in screening, weapons detection, explosives detection and more. We have to
consistently maintain the highest rate of detection accuracy. If you had an unqualified, unlicensed or
inexperienced person doing this work, they would miss things and things would get through the system.
Being directly employed to our security company means getting through a high criteria. It is only the right
professionally security guards who make it through that process. We know that if you don’t meet that
criteria - the company will not give you the job”.
Security Guard 6, Airport Security Officer employed by directly contracted security company10
32. Workers have also reported that the subcontractors are not subject to the same working
conditions as the MSS employees. Lack of regulation in terms of the span of working hours
for subcontractors can lead to extreme fatigue which puts fellow workers and the Australia
public at risk.
“The longest shift I have worked is 12 hours and I normally have at least an 8 hour break between shifts. It’s
not the same for the subcontractors. Some subcontractors have done a 10.5 hour night shift, slept in their car
and are back on shift less than 4 hours later, sometimes to do another 10.5 hour shift. Some have done crowd
control at a night club and then come straight to start with us at 4am”
Security Guard 7, Airport Security Officer employed by directly contracted security company11
“ I know of some that work 17 days straight. Working that many days effects your concentration. The
concentration you need to operate a screening machine is phenomenal. If you have gone 17 days straight you
are brain fried.”
Security Guard 8, Airport Security Officer employed by directly contracted security company12
9 Ibid 10 Ibid11 Ibid 12 Ibid
16
The high incidence of exploitation arising from labour hire and
subcontracting
33. In many industries, the use of labour hire and subcontracting results in a much higher
incidence of exploitation and unlawful behaviour than arises from direct employment
relationships.
34. Workers at the bottom of a labour supply chain involving labour hire and subcontracting are
often unlikely to be receiving their minimum legal entitlements. United Voice conducted one
subcontracting investigation in 2015 that found a subcontracted worker had been underpaid
$26,000.00 in an eighteen month period. In a second subcontractor case, a worker was found
to have been underpaid about $10,000.00 in only three months.
Avoidance of responsibility
35. These arrangements usually result in the principal attempting to defer, avoid and ignore
moral and legal responsibility for the employment of people who perform work for them to
what is usually a much smaller, less stable entity. Hosts and principals often express surprise
and dismay when they find out that the people working for them are being exploited or
ripped off despite the exploitation occurring at their own business or premises. They always
blame the labour hire company or contractor. Labour hire and subcontracting often allows a
host or primary contractor to consciously ignore the manner in which the employees
engaged at their work sites are paid and treated.
36. In October 2015 the ABC’s 7:30 Report ran a story following a United Voice investigation into
the treatment of cleaners working at Myer stores. The investigation revealed Myer cleaners
were being underpaid by as much as $7.00 per hour, resulting in debts of more than $10,000
per cleaner in lost wages and other entitlements.
37. Over three months have now elapsed since this story went to air. During that time, cleaners
have been re-engaged on legitimate employment relationships and have begun to receive
appropriate minimum wages. However, cleaners have not been compensated for the
underpayments that accrued earlier in 2015.
38. When contacted by the ABC for comment, Myer simply said:
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"Cleaners for Myer stores are provided by Spotless and we have sought a full and urgent
explanation about the matter raised by the ABC”13
39. Extraordinarily, this is the second revelation of serious exploitation occurring in relation to
Myer cleaners in only six months. In late 2014 the Workplace Ombudsman discovered
underpayments totalling more than $12,000.00 involving four cleaners discovered during
snap visits to Myer stores at several Melbourne shopping centres. Following these
revelations, Myer said "the company took its duties as a responsible Australian employer
seriously".
40. In 2014, United Voice conducted an investigation of cleaners engaged to work at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). In this investigation it was found that the MCG engaged
cleaning services from ISS Facility Services who in turn subcontracted to the First Placement
Group of Companies (FGC). Interviews with seven cleaners working at the MCG under FGC
showed at all were international students who had been recruited to work the sham
arrangements. They were required to hold an ABN but were also required to wear ISS
uniforms. Cleaners working on ABNs for FGC reported being underpaid between $6 per hour
on Monday to Friday and up to $16 an hour on Sundays. Cleaners also reported not receiving
payment of their wages of extended periods:
“‘FGC are evil, they say they’ll pay after 35 days but sometimes not for several months.’ Says many people
have left because they don’t pay them.”
Cleaner 3, Melbourne Cricket Ground
41. The results of the investigation were reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman and revealed in
various media reports. In response, the MCC said it had referred the allegations to its
contractor, ISS.
Small players
42. The small, itinerant nature of many labour hire and subcontracting operations makes
exploitation much more likely. These businesses may be struggling to survive, may lack
internal competency and rarely have industrial or human resources management expertise.
Inadvertently or deliberately, it is often the case that corners are cut and industrial and legal
obligations are not met.
13“ “Myer faces claims its cleaners are underpaid”, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 October 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/myer-faces-claims-its-cleaners-are-underpaid-20151022-gkg9r9.html
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43. In the cleaning and security industry in particular, subcontracting firms are traditionally
small, often short-term operations, which come into being with almost no start-up cost,
holding very little capital, and with the most minimal of management structures.
44. Earlier in 2015, a group of cleaners working at Crown Casino complained to the Union about
underpayments and harassment following a Union visit to the work-site. These cleaners
were discovered to have been engaged through a labour hire company called OZSCS Group
who had been engaged to provide labour to the principal contractor, Challenger Services
Group. The cleaners had never met anyone from the company, and their only contact with
their purported “employer” was via a mobile phone number apparently connected to a
person in Sydney.
Contractual obfuscation
45. The use of labour hire or subcontracting arrangements can result in a complex legal
relationship between a host and contractor sometimes involving a labour supply chain with
numerous levels. Within the cleaning and security industry in particular, it is not uncommon
for a subcontracting company to further subcontract to one or more secondary
subcontractors.
46. These chains of contracting result in a dilution of accountability and responsibility for the
engagement of the workforce. The layered arrangement also sees the employee wage
allocation within in these contracts shrink as each party subcontracts to another party for a
potentially lower price.
47. The endless devolution of legal and moral responsibility within these chains results in
significant challenges for enforcement and compliance. Some workers who are at the bottom
of these supply chains are persistent enough to successfully pursue their legal entitlements.
However the time consuming and expensive work involve in unpicking these arrangements
means the vast majority of workers have difficulty enforcing their basic legal rights.
Ramandeep Dhaliwal’s story
Ramandeep Dhaliwal was employed by a subcontractor engaged by Millennium Cleaning to clean
Werribee Plaza shopping complex. Upon investigation by United Voice it was found that
Ramandeep was engaged as an independent contractor and was paid through a chain of
subcontracting that included two subcontractors between himself and the primary contractor
Millennium.
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I started working at Werribee Plaza in July 2014. I had only been in the county for 4 months and
didn’t know much about my working rights. I took a job working for a subcontractor who worked
under Millennium Cleaning. From the beginning, I was promised that I would soon be employed
directly by Millennium.
The subcontractor made me get an ABN and then he only paid me between $14.00 and $16.00 per
hour. I had no sick leave, annual leave, superannuation or anything like that. Earning such a low
amount and not having the security of being employed directly by the contractor meant it was hard
for me to survive. I lived in a share house but it was still really hard for me to cope.
I worked with five other people employed by the subcontractor. We all asked Millennium if we could
go permanent, but on the day that everyone was filling in the paperwork to request to go permanent
the subcontract saw them. The next day the subcontractor fired all five of my work mates and said
“you don’t get to work for them, you can only ever work for me.” I was the only one left and after
that I was too scared to ever raise anything about going permanent again.
Everyone who worked there knew what was happening to me was wrong. I was wearing a
Millennium uniform and being told what to do by the Millennium supervisor. Many people said to me
“it is wrong that they treat you this way, you should be getting paid more and they should employ
you properly”.
Eventually I left because they were still not directly employing me. After I left, I went to my Union to
see what could be done about the way they had treated me and paid me. Once the Union started
investigating I found out that they owed me $26,000.00 dollars. I also found out that my
subcontractor actually worked for a second subcontractor who had a contract with Millennium. I
had no idea that I was working under to different subcontractors and how badly they had underpaid
me.
We have been able to force them to pay me the money they owe me.
What happened to me is happening to many other cleaners. I have friends who are cleaners and are
in similar situations, but they can’t speak up about it because they are too scared.
Compliance problems
48. The size of these operations and layers of contractual obfuscation often mean it is very
difficult to ascertain the nature of the employment relationship, the actual entitlements being
provided to a worker, and even who the employee is engaged by.
49. The lack of record keeping and the prevalence of informal employment relationships is a key
contributor to these compliance problems. For example, the Union is aware of multiple cases
in which workers are provided with no letter of engagement or pay slips throughout their
employment. Instead they are engaged verbally, paid in cash or by bank deposit, and only
ever know their employer’s name or contact number.
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50. The prevalence of phoenix activities is also a key contributor to compliance avoidance. In the
cleaning industry, the small start-up costs and small size of many operators means that it is
common for a single party to cease operating under a business name and phoenix to a new
business many times within the industry. These practices are often intended to avoid
industrial or legal obligations while continuing to operate what is effectively the same
enterprise.
51. The makeup of many groups of labour hire and subcontracted workers can contribute to
enforcement and compliance problems. A survey conducted by United Voice in 2013 found
that about 95% of cleaners working in Melbourne office buildings were born overseas, and
56% were international students. Within this same group, one in four reported being
engaged through a subcontracting arrangement14. A similar picture can be found in the
private security industry where many subcontracted workers are from an culturally or
linguistically diverse background These workers are often unaware of their legal
entitlements or concerned about the implications of pursuing underpayments on their ability
to remain employed or on their visa status. These fears are often relied upon, or exaggerated,
by subcontracting companies to ensure that the workforce do not pursue their entitlements.
Ben and Radha’s story
Ben and Radha have asked not be identified by their real names as they are scared about losing their jobs.
They work cleaning a public school. Although the primary contractor for their site holds the contract for
over 80 other public schools, Ben and Radha are required to work on ABNs.
Ben and Radha are paid a flat rate of $18.00 per hour and are required to work night shifts five days a
week. If they were employed directly by the contractor as part timers, they would be earning at least
$6.00 per hour more than they currently receive.
“This is a new contract, we’ve only been working here since February. We have no choice basically, so will
keep going. We’ve been cleaning for many years. I used to work in a school a long time ago. It was really,
really good, we got breaks, everything. Other places I worked, we got a medical test & proper wages.
But now we work with an ABN, so we don’t get any entitlements – no super, no sick leave, no annual leave or
long service leave, no pay slips, nothing. We just get the money and we have to manage everything.
And we’re only paid $18 an hour. We know the award is higher, we should be paid more. We should get all
those things, like super, but what do we do? Every where’s the same.
Also in school holidays, we don’t get work, so no pay.
If we could work here and get the super, everything, the pay rate by the rules, that would be better. Cleaners
used to be paid better, could get a good job. Now it’s hard to get a job – a proper job.
14 United Voice, A Dirty Business: The exploitation of international students in Melbourne’s office cleaning industry (2013), p.8 - 10
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If there’s no rules, it’ll end up like America. There’s no rules [there], just whoever makes the money. Poor is
poor and they get rich from us. But we need them and they need us.
They’re just sitting there making the contract, but we’re the ones working.”
The race to the bottom
52. In contracting industries like security and cleaning, the use of third party labour as cheap
replacement labour can result in a cost advantage in a ruthlessly competitive market. Where
those cost savings are significant, because the third party labour is being exploited, the
disadvantage to reputable, scrupulous employers is extremely significant.
53. United Voice routinely discovers part-time cleaners engaged as subcontractors, working for
flat rates of $14 per hour, under sham contracting arrangements which simply ignore
industrial minimums. A part time cleaner employed under the Cleaning Services Award 2010
is entitled to between $21.23 and $39.69 per hour for working standard weekday and
weekend shifts. The differential – of between 51 and 180 per cent – taken over a whole
contract, is more than enough to result in a reputable cleaning company losing a contract to
an unscrupulous one, where the principal awards the contract based on price.
54. In contract security and cleaning, this happens all the time. Cleaning and security companies
are pushed into a race to the bottom, where undercutting legal requirements or entering into
sham contracting arrangements becomes considered a necessary part of attaining contracts.
I was a directly employed casual in my current job. To keep our jobs when contractors changed we had to
compromise and go casual at a lesser rate than we had been on with our previous employer. We are casual
and our employer virtually told us we cannot take time off. We are only in our job as the registrar we work
for demanded we be kept on, if she goes we go. This happened at All Nyte Cleaning (a division of Mr Clean) in
Geelong when I was employed by All Nyte Cleaning. This happened in the Cleaning industry. Make it easier to
employ people as permanent part time and stop all the bullying employers who think they can treat you how
they like and pay less and less for more and harder work.
Cleaner 4, site unknown
The regulation of exploitative work practices arising from labour hire
and subcontracting
State Government inspectorate
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55. It is appropriate that the Victorian State Government take steps to limit the growing
incidence of exploitative work practices arising from insecure triangular employment
relationships.
56. A permanent inspectorate should be established to operate under the auspices of Industrial
Relations Victoria. The inspectorate should be vested with wide-ranging powers to
investigate and report in exploitative work practices arising from the use of labour hire and
subcontracting in Victoria and should work in conjunction with appropriate State and
Commonwealth agencies. In particular, the inspectorate should investigate and report on:
a. the use of labour hire and subcontracting to avoid compliance with Federal industrial
law,
b. identifying and investigating sham contracting arrangements,
c. the use of labour hire and subcontracting to avoid compliance with payroll tax
obligations,
d. the use of labour hire and subcontracting to avoid compliance with Victorian
occupational health and safety and Work Cover obligations,
e. the administration of a labour hire licensing scheme, and
f. compliance with record-keeping obligations.
Licensing
57. To improve the standards of labour hire and subcontracting provides the Victorian State
Government must establish a system of labour hire and subcontractor licensing.
58. The adoption of a licensing scheme would require any company supplying labour hire or
subcontracting to another party to register for the appropriate license and meet set
requirements to achieve and maintain this license. Such a scheme would ensure those
operating labour hire and subcontracting companies have the capacity, and incentive, to
meet their legal requirements.
59. They key features of the labour hire and subcontracting licensing scheme would require:
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a. Payment of a bond and annual license fee to the Victorian Government to operate a
labour hire or subcontracting company in Victoria.
b. Threshold capital requirement to operate a labour hire or subcontracting company in
Victoria.
c. Core requirements for license holders and related parties that include:
i. Set requirements for the nature of the license,
ii. A fit and proper persons test for persons operating in the industry,
iii. On-going minimum capital requirements,
iv. Requirements for the compliance with workplace laws, and
v. Requirements for the provision of annual reports.
d. A dedicated compliance unit.
e. Mandatory OHS, workplace rights and entitlements training.
Record keeping
60. Record keeping associated with labour hire and subcontracting arrangements is notoriously
poor. Where these arrangements exist, it is common that the basic requirements of Federal
industrial law to keep records in relation to employees and to issue those employees with
pay slips is not complied with. This occurs for a range of reasons, including:
a. The deliberate ignorance practiced by some principals in relation the work
arrangements that apply to their labour hire and subcontracted workers.
b. The smaller, itinerant nature of many subcontracting and labour hire providers, who
often lack human resources expertise and are ignorant of their obligations.
c. The complexity and multilayered nature of many labour hire and subcontracting supply
chains
61. It is not appropriate for principals who engage the services of labour hire and subcontracting
workers to continue to practice complete ignorance in relation to their work arrangements,
simply because legal relationships have become disconnected by the nature of the supply
chain. Principals should be obliged to keep employment records in relation to every worker
who falls within their purview. The Victorian Government should require every Victorian
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employer to keep basic records in relation to every worker who performs work for them,
directly or indirectly. This measure would assist in:
a. ascertaining proper responsibility for exploitation and mistreatment where it occurs,
and
b. ensuring compliance with associated legal obligations, such as immigration law, payroll
tax liability, occupational health and safety and Work Cover obligations.
Federal Government reform
62. It is appropriate that the Victorian State Government advocate changes to Federal workplace
law to limit the growing incidence of exploitative work practices arising from triangular
employment relationships.
63. This should include:
a. Free content rules in collective bargaining to allow for subcontractor / labour hire
parity, restrictions and limitations on the use of subcontracting or labour hire, or the
prohibition of contracting out altogether.
b. Legislation to be provided for “site rates”, where an employer becomes covered by the
site collective agreement when they provide labour covered by that agreement, whether
they were party to the agreement or not.
c. The extension of an unfair dismissal regime beyond just direct employers to persons
responsible for the engagement – such as principal contractors or clients.
d. The addition of the casual conversion standard to the NES.
e. The extension of requirements relating employee records to all workers within an
employer’s purview (including subcontracting labour to the full extent of the supply
chain).
Procurement
64. The Victorian State Government should adopt whole-of-Government policies to ensure that
labour hire and subcontracting properly regulated in relation to the procurement of State
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Government goods and services. As such State Government procurement rules should
include safeguards to ensure:
a) Prequalification requirements: to ensure a higher rate of contractor compliance,
State Government must procure services from panels of contractors who are able to
demonstrate their compliance with appropriate legislative and industrial
requirements.
b) Tender subcontracting specifications: to prevent unregulated subcontracting and
sham-contracting arrangements within government contracts, the State must ensure
that all requests for tenders and procurement contracts make specifications about
what subcontracting, if any, is permitted. These requirements must specify the:
i. Types of work, and total of work, that may be subcontracted,
ii. Requirement for the contractor to report any subcontracting to the
client agency,
iii. Requirements for the maintenance of records pertaining to the
engagement of workers through any subcontracting arrangement,
and
iv. Provide compliance mechanism for the subcontractor engagement.
c) Compliance mechanism for breaches of industrial legislation: State Government
must ensure that procurement contracts establish the necessary mechanism to
ensure compliance with industrial legislation and contract terms pertaining to
subcontracting arrangements.
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Appendix A – United Voice Member Stories
United Voice members from across all industries are affected by labour hire, subcontracting and insecure
work.
Members feel the impact of the fall of permanent employment and the rise of insecure and unreliable
work in their professional lives, their financial security, their families and their communities.
United Voice members from across all sectors tell their stories below and call for action by the State
Government to make real change:
Peter Parascandalo Dandenong
I was contracting with an ABN but to one employer […] more than a year ago. Job contract was on a per-
call-out basis. Regardless of what hour in the day, or on weekends, there were no penalty rates involved. If
work was not available l was compelled to stay at the depot and not at my home base. Any damage to
operating vehicle was to be paid by myself even though insurance was on the vehicle. I was working with
acid, lead battery, chlorine fumes. Paying normal bills of running a house with a serious strain on
relationship as hours for job were adhoc. Callouts to jobs were at all hours. Wife stressed about me out late
at night and early hours to remote location This happened at Marshall Batteries, Dandenong when I was
employed by Hewson nom. This happened in the car service industry. [We need to] fine people found to do
these sham employment contracts for the earnings gained through abuse.
Anonymous
I was a directly employed casual in my current job. There are no problems with my pay, but I know of a lot of
others' who feel underpaid. I feel I cannot discuss my work conditions as new ideas are rebutted with excuses
of why it wouldn't work. I injured myself at work. My case has been and still is mismanaged. I have been told
that I cannot make medical appointments for my work injury during work hours. Even if there are no other
appointments available. After I was told due to my work injuries they could no longer roster me on, I was not
rostered on for the whole of August and due to me opting out of my pre-injury hours and I was happy to
forfeit Workers' Wage Compensation, my battle to negotiate my availabilities and return to work took a
month to settle, so I had no income for a month. My return to work plans after coming back were written
without my knowledge and submitted to the Worksafe Agent without my signature. It then took another 8
weeks for a Return to work plan to be written after three Certificate of Capacities was submitted and
although I asked for one I was not given one. I would actively investigate employers and Worksafe agents
through speaking to the employees, not management. I've witnessed the employer lie to governing bodies
during investigations. My position description requires me to lift up to 20kg. Due to my work restrictions, if I
cannot lift 20kg I've been advised my employer is no longer under obligation to keep me employed. They
have made no efforts to retrain me in other roles so that I can cross skill or up-skill to a less laborious role.
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Anonymous Armadale
I was informally employed less than a year ago. Boss refused to put me on pay roll, I was casual at best and
being paid cash, but needed the job so couldn't say anything. This happened in the Hospitality industry.
Anonymous
I was a directly employed casual more than a year ago. It is just extremely tiring, as sometimes you work 10
days straight plus, and sometimes there is no work, so if you have personal relationship or other commitment
it is difficult to achieve. I feel stressed and slightly anxious at times mainly due to no confidence in the future.
As sometimes politics within the past companies i have worked for have just been plane stupid. To be honest i
would merge the electronic employee registration number with the taxation department. That would
eliminate allot of the cash work and maintain the high standards that the security industry was in.
Ebony Mukakiwa, Morwell
I was on a rolling contract in my current job. I am not the bosses buddy so I get whatever they want to give
me even though I have at times worked 30 days straight don't have holidays or sick days off. I was bullied by
bosses buddy for 2yrs, threatened with the sack when I said anything, other workers told me not to say
anything as it would make no difference and it didn't she does whatever she wants. Don’t trust co-workers
with anything. She knew the boss for over 30 yrs. The bosses lied about good workers talked about one guy’s
medical history. This happened at Lions Nathan yoghurt factory Morwell Gippsland and Loy yang power
station Gippsland when I was employed by Menzies International. This happened in the Cleaning factory
/power station industry. Another woman had been kicked off 2 Good start childcare centres in Traralgon
and Sims metal, she was placed out at Loy Yang were in less than 6 months she was already found to not
show up but was paid anyway, she then was given extra work that I was never even asked if I wanted. Loy
yang had reduced hours for us. I was many times treated like the way this lazy woman should have been.
They implied I was not doing my job but it was her that was not showing up and or doing her job. I had been
paid extra for cleaning up her filthy area. She remains working there. Menzies has lost the contract, now I
only have 17hrs a week work which is half of what I lived on, I will have to apply for new start this week just
to SURVIVE.
Navpreet Singh
I am on a rolling contract in my current job. Last year for six months me and other guards didn't get paid
overtime above average hours; nobody talked about it or complained fearing losing job or transfer to some
undesirable place. Few years back one member of our team did took up this cause and the result was he was
transferred then he decided to quit. Few years back when I was on annual leave and when returned my job
was no-longer there - it was subcontracted . Then a few left there, one of them resigned, and I had to struggle
hard to get his position. It is a stress to find something secure before the company kick you out. My worries -
what can be achieved in my struggle and job hunting which can be categorized as secure. And I am
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constantly anxiety to get secure employment with some decent future prospects. It is hard question because
not set of rules and regulations. It won’t work unless society is ridden of greed and other vices which make
people life miserable. But to give maximum security of employment and job prospects the prime minister
needs to put himself in the same shoe to those who are suffering. We need to make sure the laws bind
companies to hire people direct-not sham- sub -contracting in the name of pseudo cost-cut and else. We need
strict compliance with set standards for future pay rise and job security and last but not least some sort of
government official inspection to the workplaces every now and then to see the compliance is there and a
stringent law making companies to prove a real hard-ship they facing which compelling them for
outsourcing or subcontracting otherwise the employment deemed not to be changed.
Anonymous CBD
Guards too scared to say anything bad about MSS. They only got us to fill out LMS modules - that was it. We
have job uncertainty. And as it turns out i have been stood down for nothing after 37 years’ service. This
happened at MSS at RBA, CBD when I was employed by MSS. This happened in the Security industry. We need
to clean out the whole security industry and have standard minimum wages.
Anonymous
I was a directly employed casual in my current job. We don’t get paid weekend penalties, we are on a flat
rate. As a casual we can be moved around or removed from a particular site at any time or just not get any
hours for some time. I would say that if you’re working over 30 hours per week regularly for the same
company you must be paid as a Full Timer.
Don Clemente Melbourne
I am on a rolling contract in my current job. Earlier in the year when my former Security Company (Wilson)
lost it's tender/contract at the NGV site to BRI security I successfully retained my job, however through no
fault of mine I took a pay cut and lost over $300 in my wages. I suffer fatigue experienced due to prolonged
standing without adequate seating being provided in the course of my shifts. The new contractor is
breaching our historic OH&S agreement made between the NGV site and Worksafe. Security companies are
undercutting wages by employing contract workers on lower wages. They are using these tactics to win
tender contracts outside of an EBA. This happened at The National Gallery of Victoria when I was employed
by Business Risks International (Security). All of this happened in the Security industry. I would create new
Commonwealth Laws to prevent the erosion of workers conditions regarding the exploitation of foreign and
young workers.
Anonymous Melbourne CBD
I was contracting with an ABN but one employer in my current job. I am a mobile patrol officer and our job is
to conduct random patrols of premises in specific time frame. These days company is gaining more clients
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but problem is that they don’t want to spend money to put extra vehicle on road instead they are overloading
the work load and want us to compromise with the quality of work and if something goes wrong we are the
one who need to answers because you know managers wants to take their commission by cutting our
budgets. In my past 4 years of working with company no one ever organise any staff meeting to discuss and
resolve any issues relating our work load and health and safety. Also more important thing is company policy
about hiring labour via subcontract company as those guys working on ABN with no insurance and cover
and managers keep hiring them because they earn cash money from agents. We need fair laws for
subcontract guards as we guys are paying proper taxes out of our wages comparatively with those working
on ABN and not even paying proper GST. As company is hiring subcontract guards we start losing extra work
and trainings. This happened in Melbourne CBD when I was employed by Wilson security. This happened in
the Security industry. We need to organise a proper law for subcontract agency by putting insurance and
cover policies and we need to put strict law against those who make decent money but don’t pay taxes at all.
Anonymous Melbourne
I was contracting with an ABN in my current job. Trying to fit more tasks in an already limited timeframe as
ongoing demands increase our workload. Contract is up and not sure if we would stay on as subcontracting
always wants to lower pay and increase hours and don't sign longer term contract i.e. renew only on short
term. No guarantee of job security or a decent hourly rate to take home a decent pay check. This happened in
the Cleaning industry. We work hard to earn our income. Undercutting to favour big corporations to get
more done for less leaves us at the mercy of best bid for contracts i.e. Cleaner's jobs. End this illegal way of
getting people to work hard for just about free rates!
Anonymous
I was on a rolling contract more than a year ago. No promotions, just keep doing the same thing while the
health allows. Only some loved ones are promoted. The rest are in peace! Should be equal and should have
some exams or others reports based on who should be promoted. Only pick and choose basing on favouritism
should be abolished.
Gabe
I was a directly employed casual in my current job. We need to make employers more accountable
Anonymous CBD
I was on a rolling contract less than 3 months ago. This happened at DEMOS and GLAD in the Melbourne
CBD. This happened in the cleaning industry.
Ibby Rabah Tullamarine
I was a directly employed casual in my current job in Tullamarine when I was employed by Spotless. This
happened in the security industry. I would help out casual workers with annual leave and sick leave as we
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are not the same as full time.
David Northcote
I was a directly employed casual in my current job.
Anonymous
I was on a rolling contract less than a year ago. Due to the nature of the contract it was ‘take what’s offered
or we'll get someone else’. Despite working there for over 2 years, on several contracts the contracts were
only short term and there was no scope to take leave during the period of contract. They were short term
contracts with no guarantee of work beyond the end of each contract. The company was not willing to offer
more lengthy contracts or permanent employment. We need to limit the use of short term contracts or have
minimum length of contracts such as 2 years with full entitlements etc.
Jack Todaro Balwyn
I was a directly employed casual in my current job. I get no penalty rates, no payslips, so far no
superannuation paid. I was told the business paid WorkCover, but I have never been made aware of the
procedures to follow in the event of an accident. I work Friday to Sunday, every week without penalty rates.
It means asking for time off on these days is not always guaranteed because the roster is set and no one
wants to work on the weekend, especially with no penalty rates. But I have to pay rent and other expenses.
Missing a shift too many to see my own family or to take the time to study could mean cutting into my
savings too much. In a café environment as a casual I don't know how secure I am going forward each week,
and I worry that I cannot ask to swap my shifts around too much in case they start looking for someone more
flexible to hire. This happened in the hospitality industry. We need to increase powers of unions and the
Ombudsman to investigate breaches of the award. We need legislation that ties an operator's ability to
operate to their compliance with the laws. We need stronger awards which have casual to part time
conversion clauses. We need stronger unfair dismissal laws.
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