Midway through last year the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) initiated Federal Court proceedings against the ABC over staff allegedly being forced into successive fixed-term contracts. In what MEAA perceived as a breach of the Fair Work Act ABC staff were employed under continued insecure work agreements with a spokesperson saying:
“Women and staff from diverse backgrounds are particularly impacted by the risks of insecure jobs, which we fear worsens issues like pay gaps, and bullying issues in our workplace.
Staff who have worked hard for the ABC over multiple years or projects have a right to secure ongoing employment that affords them the security to do their jobs well for the public they serve.”
Then in September the Federal court ruled in favour of Antoinette Lattouf with the ABC made to pay $150,000 for Lattouf’s unlawful sacking alongside a previously awarded $70,000 in compensation for non-economic loss.
Now another lawsuit looms with Julian Morrow (pictured), the former Chaser and current presenter of ABC Radio National‘s Sunday Extra, seeking penalties against his employer for allegedly breaching limits on fixed-term contracts again with the Labor Government’s new laws limiting such contracts to two years from December 2022. Morrow’s has been in place since 2020.
Morrow, who describes himself as an ABC ‘Nuisance’ on Linkedin but who was an employment lawyer, told the Australian Financial Review (subscription required):
One of the reasons these practises aren’t challenged is because of the precariousness it imposes on employees.”
The ABC is fighting the case with Morrow representing himself.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.