An trolley collection subcontractor is facing penalties of tens of thousands of dollars in court action for allegedly exploiting two migrant trolley collectors at Bendigo, in regional Victoria.
Jobanjeet Singh has also been accused of falsifying records to cover up the alleged exploitation.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges Singh and his company, Joban’s Trolley Collection Pty Ltd. underpaid the two workers who had been recently granted permanent residency after arriving from Pakistan and Afghanistan as refugees, a total of 29,031 in six months, between January and June 2015.
The workers were allegedly paid between $9.73 and $19.20 an hour resulting in underpayment of minimum hourly rates and other loadings and penalties.
They were allegedly also underpaid superannuation and annual leave entitlements.
FWO also alleges that Mr Singh and his company knowingly provided Fair Work inspectors with false time-and-wages records that overstated the rates the two workers were paid.
Jobanjeet faces maximum penalties of up to $10,800 per contravention and Joban’s Trolley Collection Pty Ltd faces penalties of up to $54,000 per contravention for a number of alleged contraventions of the Fair Work Act.
“Employers should be aware that we treat exploitation of migrant workers particularly seriously,” Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James.
Ms James says she is increasingly concerned about the number of employers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are exploiting workers from within their own ethnic communities.
“I want to make it clear to that the lawful obligations to pay minimum wage rates, keep appropriate employment records and issue pay slips apply to all employers in Australia and they are not negotiable.
“We welcome the Government’s commitments to enhance workplace laws to better protect vulnerable workers, including increasing applicable penalties for serious record-keeping contraventions.”
Employers and employees seeking assistance can visit www.fairwork.gov.au.
