Wage Slaves Underpaid

[Nom De Plume]

Woolworths has admitted underpaying thousands of its workers as much as $300 million over the past decade, in what is believed to be the biggest such case on record in Australia.

In a statement, Woolworths said it has discovered about 5,700 salaried staff across its supermarkets and Metro stores had not been paid in full as set out in the General Retail Industry Award (GRIA).

However, the number of underpaid workers could rise depending on the outcome of its internal review — which will also cover its other brands Big W and Endeavour Drinks (which includes Dan Murphy's, BWS, Cellarmasters and Langton's).

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-30/ ... s/11652656

[Nom De Plume]

'They're madly checking their payrolls': the ugly truth of Australia's underpayment epidemic

At the office of Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker, the flood of companies rushing to declare that they have underpaid their workers has become a torrent – a torrent that she admits she might need more money to deal with.
Speaking to Guardian Australia this week after supermarket giant Woolworths admitted to underpaying staff by as much as $300m over almost a decade, Parker says it felt like big companies were coming forward almost weekly to declare their wrongdoing.
Just don’t call it a crisis.
“I don’t accept the word crisis,” she says. “I am pleased companies are coming forward and are willing to rectify this issue.”

Crisis or not – and unions definitely think it is – the Woolworths case highlights a culture in Australian corporate management of failing to pay workers what they’re due.
At the top end of town, companies that have confessed to tens of millions in underpayments include Wesfarmers, Qantas, Commonwealth Bank, Super Retail Group and Michael Hill Jewellers.

And then there are the likes of franchisees at convenience store chain 7-Eleven, who underpaid workers $160m as part of what was allegedly an entrenched system of deliberate rorting; the Made Establishment empire fronted by celebrity chef George Calombaris, which underpaid restaurant workers $7.8m; and a string of employers across the economy who have underpaid vulnerable migrant workers.
Even the ABC, which has broken news about wage theft, and labour law firm Maurice Blackburn, which campaigns against it, have confessed to underpayments.
Whether it’s through apparent negligence, as in the case of Woolworths, or through deliberate wage theft, as at 7-Eleven, it has become obvious that underpayment is endemic across the economy.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... t-epidemic

[Nom De Plume]

Given the current economic climate, I have to wonder if some of these companies can afford to reimburse employees.

[Neferti]

Given the current economic climate, I have to wonder if some of these companies can afford to reimburse employees.

Woolworths? Coles? Aldis? They could stop paying their CEO a few millions a year, for a start.

[Bogan]

No wonder corporations like immigration.

Fruit supplier to Coles and Woolworths using illegal foreign workers

By Fairfax Media's Nick McKenzie
Updated 27 minutes agoTue 15 Nov 2016, 7:17am
An undercover investigation has exposed the exploitation of illegal migrant workers on farms supplying Coles and Woolworths, as a Federal Government adviser called for reforms to stop the "systemic" abuse of foreign labour.
KEY POINTS:
• Undercover investigation finds illegal foreign workers being exploited on farms
• Some labour hire contractors are disregarding visa rules
• Federal Government adviser says problem is "systemic"
A joint 7.30 and Fairfax Media investigation infiltrated the underworld of illegal workers and labour hire syndicates operating in northern Victoria and southern NSW.
Dozens of illegal labourers on the farms said they were being underpaid by about $9 an hour to pick and package fresh produce that ends up being sold by Australia's big supermarkets.
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Labour exploitation, slave-like conditions found on farms supplying biggest supermarkets

Conclusive evidence of extreme labour exploitation, slave-like conditions and black market labour gangs has been found on farms and in factories supplying Australia's biggest supermarkets and fast food chains.
A Four Corners investigation has revealed the food being picked, packed and processed by exploited workers is being sold to consumers nationwide. The supermarkets involved include Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, IGA and Costco.
Migrant workers from Asia and Europe are being routinely abused, harassed and assaulted at work, the Four Corners investigation found. Women are also being targeted sexually, with women being propositioned for sex and asked to perform sexual favours in exchange for visas.
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7-Eleven staff work twice as long at half pay rate, investigation reveals


Four Corners
By Alison Branley
Updated 29 Aug 2015, 3:16pmSat 29 Aug 2015, 3:16pm
Australian retail giant 7-Eleven has been found to be systematically paying its workers about half the minimum wage at stores around the country.
KEY POINTS:
• 7-Eleven employees worked twice as long at half the pay
• Investigation found three out of five stores underpaying staff
• Overseas students systematically underpaid, threatened with losing visa
A joint Four Corners and Fairfax investigation has uncovered evidence of collusion between some of the owners at hundreds of stores across multiple states.
Former employees have told of being made to work twice as long as expected at half the rate of pay, with some earning as little as $10 an hour.
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Queensland restaurant refuses to reimburse underpaid worker who 'ate too much'

Updated yesterday at 12:54pmTue 12 Jul 2016, 12:54pm

A Queensland restaurant operator who claimed a worker ate too much food and used too much air conditioning has been fined $21,000 after refusing to reimburse the underpaid staffer.
The owners of Fire and Stone restaurant at Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island illegally paid a Chinese backpacker $10 an hour in 2014.
At the time the worker was aged in her 20s, spoke limited English and was in Australia on a working holiday visa.
She contacted the Fair Work Ombudsman which found she was underpaid $1,577 in just 19 days, having received less than half the legal rate of pay for a casual hospitality worker.
The ombudsman took the business to court after it refused to reimburse the backpacker on the grounds she "ate too much food and used too much air-conditioning".
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Immigration Department audits reveal large-scale fraud of visa system by Indian students and workers

By Will Ockenden

Updated 11 hours 30 minutes ago

The ABC has revealed that thousands of Indian students, skilled workers and 457 visa holders have been admitted to Australia on dodgy travel and work documents.
Briefings prepared by the Immigration Department and obtained by the ABC's Fact Checking Unit under Freedom of Information show out-of-control, large-scale fraud of the visa system.
The internal audits show fraud rates approaching 50 per cent, and an Immigration Department struggling to properly identify people who are entering the country.
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ICAC rules Australian of the Year finalist stole $750,000 from charities

By Meredith Griffiths

Updated about 10 hours agoWed 19 Sep 2018, 2:44pm
An Australian of the Year finalist who ran two charities spent more than $750,000 of their money on herself and her family, NSW's Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) has found.
KEY POINTS:
• The ICAC found Iman Sharobeem bought jewellery and a Mercedes with the money, amongst other things
• At one stage during the ICAC hearings last year, Ms Sharobeem yelled "I've been framed"
• Her misconduct took place between 2006 and 2016
The ICAC said it would consider getting advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions about whether criminal charges could be laid against Eman Sharobeem, who ran the charities.
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Plenty more. Immigration of people from third world countries as it depresses the wages of Australian workers and it is open to corruption and exploitation. This is why Australia once had the White Australia Policy.

[Nom De Plume]

https://www.channelnews.com.au/wesfamer ... age-theft/

And now it's Westfarmers turn to self-disclose...