Foreign students “exploited”
The following article was written by Helen Westerman and published on the websites of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald today.
Foreign students living in Australia are in danger of being exploited by ‘’unscrupulous employers'’, Australia’s workplace watchdog says.
The workplace ombudsman is investigating claims workers in 7-Eleven convenience stores throughout Melbourne’s CBD, many of them foreign students, are being paid as little as $8 an hour.
It is alleged the 7-Eleven staff are forced to work up to 12-hour shifts and unpaid ‘trial’ shifts.
With the investigation underway, Workplace Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson says he is concerned foreign students have ‘’little or no understanding of their workplace rights and the laws which protect them'’.
‘’This makes them vulnerable to exploitation and unwittingly accepting poor employment conditions so they can pocket a few dollars,'’ he said.
‘’Unfortunately, our experience suggests that where students do suspect their employer of unacceptable workplace practices, they are reluctant to come forward for fear they may lose their job.'’
Dozens of overseas students - some as young as 16 - working as waiters, kitchen hands and dishwashers in Warrnambool were recently reimbursed more than $84,000, Mr Wilson said.
The compensation order was made after workplace inspectors discovered employers were short-changing staff.
It conducted a blitz last week on 7-Eleven stores after complaints from Victoria’s fast food and retail workers’ union, UNITE.
UNITE Secretary Anthony Main said it plans to continue protesting outside 7-Eleven stores this Friday.
7-Eleven stores are wholly owned in Australia by the Withers and Barlow families and has 370 outlets throughout Australia, most of which are franchised. There are 32 stores in the CBD.
According to the BRW Rich 200 list in 2008, the Withers family is worth $297 million.
Chief operating officer David Ginsberg said it was taking the matter seriously and undertaking its own investigation with franchisees.
‘’The franchise agreement states very clearly that they have to abide by the law and that is what we are having a look at,'’ he said.
But Mr Ginsberg defended 7-Eleven franchisees, saying he was confident they understood their obligations.
‘’We are comfortable with the material, the information and the training that we provide our franchisees. They do operate as independent business people and it’s obviously an investigation that is on process at the moment,'’ he said.
The Workplace Ombudsman plans to send 10,000 brochures to universities and TAFE colleges across Australia in a bid to educate international students about their workplace rights.
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