workers

Qantas illegally fired 1,700 workers at start of pandemic, court rules

The court unanimously upheld that the carrier had unlawfully laid off staff at 10 airports in 2020.

The ruling found that Qantas breached Australia's Fair Work Act, which protects employee rights.

Qantas said the outsourcing was a necessary financial measure.

The airline has faced public outrage in recent weeks, after reaping record profits despite a series of scandals related to its actions throughout the pandemic.

RSE wages help to fund cyclone protection measures in Vanuatu

“We came from a place that had no water,” says Kalter Kalsilick, who lives in the village of Eton. 

Kalsilick came to New Zealand in 2017 and picked apples in Hastings before heading south to Blenheim to pick grapes reports PMN News. 

He returned seven months later and spent 250,000 vatu ($3,280 NZD) on a drill that could burrow down to the water table. 

“My aim was to provide a water system for my village, and this is beneficial for my village but also for my family because I am also building a house for them.”

Vaccination for workers not yet mandatory, says Vanuatu union

One of the union's leaders, Ephraim Kalsakau, said there is no law that can penalise a worker who has not been vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.

He said even if it is covered under the employee's contract, it cannot be effective if Vanuatu's law does not cover it.

While Vanuatu is Covid-free, and its vaccine rollout began successfully in recent months, there's debate about whether employers can make vaccination mandatory for their staff.

Big brand workers going hungry due to Covid-19 poverty

Lower incomes and unemployment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have forced garment workers across the world further into poverty and imperilled their access to food, a new study has found.

A survey of almost 400 workers making clothes for big-name brands including Adidas, GAP, H&M, Nike and Gildan found that "declining incomes are leading to widespread hunger among workers and their families".