The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price is in the red today.
Qantas shares are down 0.76% in early afternoon trading, currently fetching $6.57 apiece. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.44% lower at the time of writing.
In what may also affect the market today, the Reserve Bank of Australia is meeting this afternoon to make a decision on interest rates.
So what news is affecting Qantas today?
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What's happening?
The Qantas share price is faring much the same as other ASX 200 travel shares today. Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) shares are down 0.61%, while Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares are marginally in the green, up 0.14%
Qantas has been criticised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) for its use of "labour hire companies" to pay its staff.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus claimed: "Qantas is the poster child for gaming the system to meet the KPIs of Executives."
She added:
On some Qantas domestic flights, you might see 5 different rates of pay on the same plane.
However, Qantas said it is the "highest paying airline in Australia". The airline explained some cabin crew agreements date back decades "with conditions from a different era of aviation".
In a statement provided to Motley Fool, Qantas added:
There appears to be a concerted effort to paint Qantas as doing something nefarious despite the high wages we pay, the training we invest in and the highly competitive sector in which we operate.
Other companies, including airlines, have arrangements with similar outcomes but don't seem to generate the same criticism.
The comments come at a time when debate is heating up over the federal government's proposed "same job, same pay" legislation. The legislation, still at consultation stage, would make companies pay labour-hire workers the same wages as direct employees.
Meanwhile, analysts at Morgan Stanley have recently retained an overweight rating on the Qantas share price with an $8.50 price target.
The team is confident Qantas' higher earnings are sustainable and believes "consensus expectations are too low", as my Foolish colleague James reported.
Share price snapshot
The Qantas share price has soared 23% in the last year.
Qantas has a market capitalisation of about $11.94 billion based on the latest share price.
