The Health Services Union has lodged a Federal Court “precedent-setting” case after the aged care contractor Catering Industries employed kitchen staff under a different award.

The HSU want to prevent operators from “engaging catering staff under the hospitality award while working in an aged care facility”.

The claim is for about 10 to 15 staff, but if successful, could have wider ramifications for outsourced workers in the aged care industry.

The hearings between the HSU and Catering Industries (NSW) Pty Ltd, is over whether employees working in the kitchen and food services operations at Heritage Care’s 112-bed facility in Botany, 12km southeast of Sydney’s CBD, should be paid as aged care workers rather than lower-paid hospitality staff.

“The endless splintering of the workforce undermines the bargaining position of all aged care staff and keeps wages rock bottom,” HSU National President Gerard Hayes said.

“You can’t carve out catering or cleaning from care and health, the same employer should be responsible for the vast bulk of the aged care effort.”

Gerard claimed aged care operators wouldn’t be burdened with increased costs if the Federal Court ruled in the union’s favour.

“It would cost them what their current expenditure is now so it wouldn’t be exorbitant at all,” he said.

“We’re not seeking to enhance, we’re seeking to maintain (wages), and that’s the kicker in all of this. Everyone acknowledges aged care work is so underpaid, so under resourced and yet now here is an opportunity to be lower paid and that just flies in the face of any common sense.”