Fair Work Ombudsman finds Roo and Oz Sheetmetal workers are underpaid   
Herald Sun
December 1, 2016


A MELBOURNE manufacturing business has been underpaying a group of migrant workers thousands of dollars over the past 10 months, a Fair Work Ombudsman investigation has uncovered.

The Herald Sun can reveal Roo and Oz Sheetmetal, based in Sunshine West, has been forced to reimburse 16 casual workers $23,200 after they were paid well below the industry award.

The Ombudsman is growing concerned about the number of cases of newly arrived workers being short-changed by employers who are also from migrant backgrounds.

The employees at Roo and Oz Sheetmetals were underpaid their ordinary hourly rates of pay, casual loading, penalty and overtime rates.   

The sheet-metal fabricator, and its managing director Thuy Ngoc Thi Phan, have entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Ombudsman to repay the workers.

An audit revealed the workers were paid rates equivalent to fulltime rates and were underpaid their casual loading.

The casual workers received hourly rates of between $18 and $19, including on weekends and public holidays, when they should have been receiving up to $21.61 an hour for ordinary hours.

One worker was underpaid a total of $8677 over the 10-month period.   

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said she was increasingly concerned about cases of migrant workers being underpaid by “culturally and linguistically diverse” business owners.

“While I understand there are cultural challenges and different laws in other parts of the world, it is incumbent on all businesses operating in Australia to understand and apply Australian laws,” Ms James said.

“To that end, the Fair Work Ombudsman is here to help with free advice and resources in a range of languages.”

Ms James said her agency decided not to take Roo and Oz Sheetmetal to court because of the company’s willingness to co-operate and immediately rectify the underpayments.

Although the company was underpaying casuals, inspectors found the majority of workers were employed fulltime and were paid above what they were entitled to under the award.

Ms Phan told inspectors she was unaware of her company’s obligations to pay the casual workers higher rates of pay.

When contacted by the Herald Sun, the company declined to comment.

Separate investigations by the Ombudsman also revealed a Chinese seafood operator in Sydney underpaying 22 workers almost $80,000 and the Kal’ang Respite Care Centre Aboriginal Corporation, based in Hervey Bay, Queensland, short-changing 10 staff $80,000.