Union and business leaders warned “calamitous” and “knee-jerk” border closures have put lives at risk after three trucks were in a fatal crash on the SA border.
Peter Evans, a full-time load controller at an aviation business based at Melbourne airport, told Guardian Australia that with the number of flights down to 10% of the normal load, he had shifts cut in half to four hours a couple of times a week.
“We’re only paid the amount of jobkeeper – the company can only give shifts for the few flights that are there – so heading in to the end of March is a pretty anxious time.”
Cuts to jobkeeper “certainly did” have a financial impact, Evans said, preventing he and his wife saving superannuation and for holidays – while “a lot of friends at work are behind on everything”.
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Unions and workers say a push from Anthony Albanese to place people in insecure work at the heart of industrial relations reform in Australia is long overdue.
But Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has criticised the proposed policy, calling it one of the most unlimited, unqualified, quite outlandish promises to be made in the country s history of industrial relations.
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Mr Albanese s policy push would include vowing to guarantee workers in the gig-economy the minimum wage and conditions through the Fair Work Commission.
He will also pledge action to address increasing casualisation in the workforce and the need to guard against the exploitation of employees working for labour hire companies.
Kurt The CyberGuy Knutsson discusses on ‘Fox and Friends Weekend’ traveling amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Another airline CEO has urged the federal government to not make coronavirus testing mandatory for domestic flights.
Southwest Airlines Co.’s Chairman and Chief Executive Gary C. Kelly sent a letter addressed to President Joe Biden on Tuesday to ask his administration to refrain from imposing any federal mandate to require a pre-departure COVID-19 test for air travel within the United States.
The letter was sent in response to a statement made by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who recently said that there is an active conversation going on with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about potentially mandating coronavirus tests before domestic flights as a way to combat the pandemic.