AUSTRALIA NEARLY 11000 WORKERS MOST FOREIGNERS AND STUDENTS GOT BACK THEIR WAGES $ 22.3 MILLION WITH HELP FROM FAIR WORK COMMISSION LAST YEAR
But in the past 12 months, we have seen worker's exploited through the underpayment of wages, unsafe working conditions, and compulsory and sub-standard accommodation.
This isn't just happening in unknown backyard operators. This is happening in association with household names like Steggles, Myer, 7-eleven, and Pizza Hut. These instances are the tip of the iceberg. Exploitation of workers is widespread throughout Australia. In retail and hospitality. In agriculture and food processing.
Last year, the Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $22.3 million that 11,000 workers should have been paid. And that doesn't include the millions of dollars in wages recovered for workers by their unions.
This is not the Australia I want to live in.
Rampant wage rip-offs don't only leave workers less in their pockets (and less to spend), it also drives down the pay and conditions across the workforce. It doesn't just deny people a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, it undercuts the millions of employers who are doing the right thing.
But these stories have been met with resounding silence and inaction by the Abbott-Turnbull Government.
Although it is hard to comprehend, employers who deliberately and systematically underpay their workers do so because they think the benefit outweighs the risk of getting caught. Currently, penalties are not a strong enough deterrent to stop this abuse happening.
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