"Our tender price is set to ensure that is met," Catherine Walsh, Australia Post's general manager of human resources, said. Joan Doyle of the CEPU argues Australia Post is deliberately turning a blind eye to contractors cutting corners.
They also claimed they were not paid for the two to three hours it took every day to sort parcels.ĭo you know more about this story? Email Xova declined to be interviewed but their lawyers argued in a letter provided by the union to the ABC the men were not employees and "consequently there can be no question of under-award payment".Īustralia Post, however, said it paid contractors enough money to ensure posties and parcel drivers were paid superannuation and other entitlements. The men claimed they were not paid superannuation or penalty rates for their early starts, and did not receive holiday pay or sick pay.
Two former parcel drivers for Melbourne-based contractor Harmony Xova lodged a claim in the Federal Court for superannuation and additional wages they believed they were owed.Īman and Bajinder, who asked only to be referred to by their first names, worked for Harmony Xova for nearly six months and for three years respectively. "The failure to pay awards wages and superannuation and workers' compensation is very widespread, and it's becoming increasingly so as overseas student labour is used more," CEPU Victorian branch secretary Joan Doyle told the ABC's 7.30 program. Some Australia Post contractors in Victoria are underpaying post and parcel delivery drivers, not paying superannuation and employing foreign students in contravention of visa restrictions, the posties' union claims.