A waste management company is being taken to court for the alleged underpayment of five refugee workers.
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, two companies and their owners are involved in the alleged exploitation of the vulnerable migrant workers: Polytrade Pty Ltd, which holds waste management contracts with a number of local government bodies; Polytrade Employment Services Pty Ltd, which supplied labour to Polytrade; and Polytrade’s owners Man Sang Chen and Pui Shan Ho. Five employees who worked at Polytrade’s waste management facilities in Dandenong and Hallam were allegedly underpaid a total of $194,249.
Fair Work Inspectors found that the affected employees had generally been paid a flat rate of $22 per hour, resulting in underpayment of the relevant minimum wage rate (which includes an industry allowance); loadings for casual, night and shift work; and penalty rates for weekend and public holiday work they were entitled to under the Waste Management Award 2010.
The underpayments allegedly occurred between February 2018 and October 2019 when the workers were employed at the Hallam and Dandenong sites as waste sorters. At the time, the workers were on protection or bridging visas pending approval of applications for protection visas, after arriving in Australia as refugees from southern Asia. They spoke limited English.
The FWO also reported breaches of workplace laws relating to minimum engagement periods, advising employees of their terms of engagement, payment of superannuation entitlements, record-keeping and issuing payslips in the required form. The alleged underpayments have now been fully rectified.
“The Fair Work Ombudsman treats cases involving allegations of underpayment of migrant workers particularly seriously. These workers can be vulnerable if they are unaware of their entitlements or reluctant to complain due to their visa status,” Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said. “Migrant workers in Australia must be paid their full lawful entitlements like any other employee in Australia.”
Polytrade and Polytrade Employment Services face potential penalties of up to $63,000 per contravention and Chen and Ho face potential penalties of up to $12,600 per contravention. The FWO is also seeking an order requiring the respondents to commission an independent audit of their compliance with workplace laws and provide the audit report to FWO.
A date for the directions hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne is still to be listed.
