The union peak body named the construction, stevedore, mining and airline giants in research released on Tuesday that found Australia’s largest dozen labour hire providers now ranked in the country’s top 30 largest commercial employers with combined revenues of about $20 billion.
At least 600,000 workers are employed through labour hire, or 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent of the workforce, the ACTU estimates, and earn $4700 a year less than ordinary workers when compared to a full-time worker’s median rate. BHP, whose subsidiary Operation Services engages more than 4000 miners outside of legacy union agreements, estimated earlier this month the laws would cost it
The ACTU said almost all ASX100 listed companies use traditional labour hire but the same job, same pay laws needed to also cover outsourcing contracts, corporate restructuring and “opaque service provision contracts” which involved both labour supplementation and local management control.