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Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale (Read 527 times)
whiteknight
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Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Jun 15th, 2019 at 6:27am
 
'Wage theft on a massive scale': Audit reveals Wollongong employers breaking rules
  June 13 2019
  Illawarra Mercury
Revelations less than half the Wollongong businesses raided by Australia's workplace watchdog were obeying the law shows "wage theft and lawlessness on a massive scale", the head of the South Coast Labour Council says.   Sad

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) this week revealed it had recovered almost $130,000 for 458 employees at 36 businesses after conducting surprise audits at workplaces across the city.

South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said the FWO action "confirmed what we all know".

"That wage theft is rampant and it's a scourge in our community," Mr Rorris said.

However, the union leader also labelled the response "pathetic".

"They're expecting us to believe that after months in preparation and all of those businesses raided that the most they could get back was $130,000," he said.



"Let's put this in perspective; we currently have one case in the federal court for two workers for $500,000.

"I have personally raised half that much money for eight workers, half the amount the government's departmental arm has been able to do - $130,000 - over the whole region. It's a joke."

Wollongong was one of three locations targeted by Fair Work inspectors, given its high population of university students and the large number of anonymous tip-offs received from workers.

Inspectors audited 97 businesses in the city, with only 38 per cent found to be complying with workplace laws.   Sad

The raids targeted takeaway food outlets, cafés and restaurants, accommodation providers, pubs and bars, and retail businesses.



In total, 489 businesses were audited in Wollongong, Albury-Wodonga and Ballarat. Almost half of them were not compliant.

The most common breach identified was employers not paying their staff correctly, either by underpaying the minimum hourly wage or not paying correct penalty rates.

Other breaches included not providing proper pay slips.   Sad

The FWO issued 16 formal cautions, 37 on-the-spot fines and two compliance notices in Wollongong.

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said: "We are committed to improving workplace compliance in the hospitality industry."
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Grappler Truth Teller Feller
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #1 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 7:58am
 
Let's face reality - most people who 'go into business' have little to no real idea of the requirements of running a business with employees, have an amazing idea that their profit is the only game in that business and is some form of right, and since many of them come, these days, from Darkest Europe, Darkest Asia, the Darkest Middle East.. even Darkest Central and South America and even Darkest USA.... all areas where workers are largely beggars on the streets of employment and must perforce accept whatever the boss dictates - the chances of their being useless at paying correctly are extremely high.

Add to that the legacy of LurkChoices and the ghastly Grim Reaper of unemployment hanging over the nation, and they tend to assume that they can simply make an offer and someone will pick it up through sheer desperation.

Time to revert to a full Awards system and enforce it.
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“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
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Gnads
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #2 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 8:27am
 
Hear hear Grappler.

This is testament to the weakened attitude and power our regulators display & use courtesy of an LNP govt ....

who's attitude across the board is to screw workers & turn back time on wages & conditions.

They boast about how small business is the backbone of the country .... yet they encourage this sort of behavior and poor attitudes of employers toward staff ..... wage theft, casualisation/under employment.

What don't they get that when people have no job & no money ..... that those small businesses and larger ones suffer because of reduced spending?

Time to give our regulators real teeth and power to thoroughly stamp this bs out.

Time for people/employers to face jail time for deliberate wage theft. Angry
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"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It's only painful and difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid." ~ Ricky Gervais
 
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Grappler Truth Teller Feller
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #3 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 8:39am
 
Have to agree that deliberate theft deserves the severest punishment - mistakes can occur and should be rectified.  Makes me wonder what kind of training prospective small business owners need to undergo - let alone the current crop of in-house designed 'managers' - the MacManagers, Boy Colonels and Girl Generals with no real idea.

Visiting in Queersland at the moment, and one of the sons of this house came to visit Mum and Dad, and told a story of being ordered to sit in while the 'boss' tore strips off some unfortunate who made a mistake.... my immediate response was that this was an arsehole of a 'manager' with no real idea, and his response was that he had to take it or lose the job.

I always laugh at such things as the caricature of the RSM in that film 'The Odd Angry Shot' - striding down the lines at daybreak and yelling at the top of his voice..... the reality is vastly different.... all instructions etc are quietly relayed and discussed the night before with all ideas considered and set right so there are no doubts, and everyone is expected to be ready to go at the specified hour.

Strut the lines like that with the SAS and you'll get the Peter DollarBill* treatment - laughed out of the Sergeant's Mess for uttering inanities about the Regiment being cowards for not landing two C-130's in Argentina on a one-way mission to blow up a few planes.

* Peter De La Billiere.


That's what these kinds of clown remind me of, and I pretty much guarantee future business failure or excessive cost - it costs 3-4 times to replace an employee than to retain one.

Just realised last night while half-asleep that the company I worked for didn't pay my super for actual hours and income - but only on a basic 38 hour week... never happened.... 90-100+ was the norm.  Can't catch 'em now, either... they've gone ....
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“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
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Dnarever
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #4 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 8:54am
 
Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 7:58am:
Let's face reality - most people who 'go into business' have little to no real idea of the requirements of running a business with employees, have an amazing idea that their profit is the only game in that business and is some form of right, and since many of them come, these days, from Darkest Europe, Darkest Asia, the Darkest Middle East.. even Darkest Central and South America and even Darkest USA.... all areas where workers are largely beggars on the streets of employment and must perforce accept whatever the boss dictates - the chances of their being useless at paying correctly are extremely high.

Add to that the legacy of LurkChoices and the ghastly Grim Reaper of unemployment hanging over the nation, and they tend to assume that they can simply make an offer and someone will pick it up through sheer desperation.

Time to revert to a full Awards system and enforce it.


It's not that they don'y know it is what they do know.

They have a well over 85% chance of getting away with it and they know if caught they may have to give back about 30% of the money they have stolen.

Virtually no chance of being caught and no real penalty if they are caught.

There is actually a huge incentive to underpay employees.
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Gnads
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #5 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 9:35am
 
Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 8:39am:
Have to agree that deliberate theft deserves the severest punishment - mistakes can occur and should be rectified.  Makes me wonder what kind of training prospective small business owners need to undergo - let alone the current crop of in-house designed 'managers' - the MacManagers, Boy Colonels and Girl Generals with no real idea.

Visiting in Queersland at the moment, and one of the sons of this house came to visit Mum and Dad, and told a story of being ordered to sit in while the 'boss' tore strips off some unfortunate who made a mistake.... my immediate response was that this was an arsehole of a 'manager' with no real idea, and his response was that he had to take it or lose the job.

I always laugh at such things as the caricature of the RSM in that film 'The Odd Angry Shot' - striding down the lines at daybreak and yelling at the top of his voice..... the reality is vastly different.... all instructions etc are quietly relayed and discussed the night before with all ideas considered and set right so there are no doubts, and everyone is expected to be ready to go at the specified hour.

Strut the lines like that with the SAS and you'll get the Peter DollarBill* treatment - laughed out of the Sergeant's Mess for uttering inanities about the Regiment being cowards for not landing two C-130's in Argentina on a one-way mission to blow up a few planes.

* Peter De La Billiere.


That's what these kinds of clown remind me of, and I pretty much guarantee future business failure or excessive cost - it costs 3-4 times to replace an employee than to retain one.

Just realised last night while half-asleep that the company I worked for didn't pay my super for actual hours and income - but only on a basic 38 hour week... never happened.... 90-100+ was the norm.  Can't catch 'em now, either... they've gone ....


Grapps my super is paid on my base rate not on my full flat rate for hours worked.

It sucks .... I'd have a shyteload more in my super if I had been paid on my full hourly rate for the past 23 years.
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"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It's only painful and difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid." ~ Ricky Gervais
 
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greggerypeccary
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #6 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 9:43am
 
Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 7:58am:
Time to revert to a full Awards system and enforce it.


We have the Modern Awards system, and the NES.
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #7 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 9:43am
 
Bottom line is globalization and free trade.

Implementing the ideas and wishes of the 1%.

Shall I say it shall I, well governments are suppose to protect the people aren't they......?

If the worker bees die so does the queen.
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1. There has never been a more serious assault on our standard of living than Anthropogenic Global Warming..Ajax
2. "One hour of freedom is worth more than 40 years of slavery &  prison" Regas Feraeos
 
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Dnarever
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #8 - Jun 15th, 2019 at 9:56pm
 
greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 9:43am:
Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 7:58am:
Time to revert to a full Awards system and enforce it.


We have the Modern Awards system, and the NES.


Unfortunately Modern awards are considered to be the safety net position. The award even in enterprise bargaining are more of a problem than a benefit. Even if you are paid $1 over the award rate with some conditions these conditions and additional money is kept under threat in negotiations, used as leverage against employees and is not protected in anyway by fair work. The boot test only protects the modern award position which is the safety net anything above that and you are on your own. The current system is fatally flawed in favour of the often dishonest employer.
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Gnads
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Re: Its Wage Theft On A Massive Scale
Reply #9 - Jun 16th, 2019 at 1:35pm
 
Dnarever wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 9:56pm:
greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 9:43am:
Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Jun 15th, 2019 at 7:58am:
Time to revert to a full Awards system and enforce it.


We have the Modern Awards system, and the NES.


Unfortunately Modern awards are considered to be the safety net position. The award even in enterprise bargaining are more of a problem than a benefit. Even if you are paid $1 over the award rate with some conditions these conditions and additional money is kept under threat in negotiations, used as leverage against employees and is not protected in anyway by fair work. The boot test only protects the modern award position which is the safety net anything above that and you are on your own. The current system is fatally flawed in favour of the often dishonest employer.


Agreed.
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"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It's only painful and difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid." ~ Ricky Gervais
 
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