The pay of low skilled subcontractors at Woolworths is again under scrutiny, with the workplace watchdog launching legal action on behalf of underpaid cleaners.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has begun proceedings in the Federal Court against national cleaning firm Pioneer Facility Services and subcontractor OzKorea and its owner Sung Gun Hwang.
OzKorea and Sung Gun Hwang have been accused of short-changing four cleaners, including three Korean nationals, more than $21,000.
The cleaners worked at four Tasmanian Woolworths supermarkets between January 2014 and January 2015.
The watchdog is also taking action against Pioneer and one of its subsidiaries, saying they should have known they weren't paying OzKorea enough for it to provide minimum wages.
Earlier in 2016, there were allegations that subcontracted trolley collectors at Woolworths were being grossly underpaid.
A spokesman for Woolworths said it ended its contract with Pioneer in late 2015 as part of a re-tendering process, though he declined to say why Woolworths chose to not go with Pioneer.
Woolworths takes any alleged non-compliance with workplace laws seriously, the spokesman said.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James has previously warned the outsourcing of low-skilled workers in highly competitive markets increased the risk of workers being underpaid, and sometimes "quite deliberately."
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