Tasmanian Business Owner Heavily Fined for Exploiting Foreign Workers
Friday 20 May 2016 @ 12.23 p.m. | Industrial Law
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia has fined a Tasmanian small business owner$70,000 after he was found to have used inaccurate job ads to lure backpackers to work for his business in remote Tasmania for as little as $1.35 an hour.
Background
Harold Jackson, the owner of Harold’s Glass and Hardware as well as the Rhythm and Vines Café in Queenstown had lured backpackers who travelled to Australia on 417 working holiday visas to work for his small businesses. Mr. Jackson had placed ads on Australian website Gumtree as well as in backpacker hostels that claimed he would sign off on people’s working visas after 88 days. However, as the court would later here, when the backpackers arrived, they were subjected to hard physical labour and were financially stranded. One backpacker in particular was paid $270 for four weeks’ work (equivalent to $1.35 an hour).
Further to this, some of the workers were arbitrarily dismissed and Mr. Jackson refused to sign off on their 88 day regional work requirement as he had promised to in the ads.
Court Finding
Judge Terry McGuire of the Federal Circuit Court condemned the actions or Mr. Jackson as both “calculated” and “callous”. He explained:
“The employees were vulnerable and such vulnerability was compounded by their isolated circumstances and the deliberate and, at times, callous nature of the respondent’s behaviour.”
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James emphasised the importance of minimum wage in Australia and made it clear that the exploitation of foreign workers will not be tolerated. She said:
“We have minimum pay rates in Australia, they apply to everyone, and they are not negotiable…Employers cannot undercut minimum wages, even if their employees offer to accept lower rates. And they must keep accurate time and wages records at all times.”
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