7-Eleven stores set to face inconvenient truth
By Genevieve Gannon (The Melbourne Times 27.01.10)
The Fair Work Ombudsman has started prosecuting 7-Eleven franchisees as part of its statewide audit of the convenience stores, but the union says the probe has hardly scratched the surface of the issue of worker exploitation.
Anthony Main, spokesman for UNITE, the fast food and retail workers union, said workers were being bilked out of pay in a widespread double-hours scam.
Pay sheets submitted to 7-Eleven’s head office, which are being used in the Ombudsman investigation, are doctored by some franchise owners, the union claims. The union has sent the Ombudsman details of more than 20 workers who said they’d been underpaid.
The Fair Work Ombudsman usually targets industries to ensure compliance with workplace laws. TMT believes this is the first time a single franchise has been singled out.
More than a third of the company’s Victorian stores are under investigation.
Mr Main said cash register records showed that workers were doing longer shifts than stated on their pay records.
“They might show worker X logging on at 9am on Monday and then logging off at 9pm the same day, but the slips say he only worked six hours.”
Last week, the Ombudsman started legal proceedings against the formers owners of 7-Eleven stores in Geelong and Melbourne, claiming they had underpaid four workers by entering false information into the 7-Eleven payroll system.
But the union says a further eight or nine workers from the same store have complained of underpayment, and countless more are being underpaid from other stores across Melbourne.
“We have recently been approached by more guys… who are still victims of the double hours scam.” Mr Main said.
“A lot of these guys were never given pay slips, there’s no record, but some have diaries and some pay recorders where it was paid into their account.”
The investigation is continuing and may lead to an audit of every 7-Eleven in the state.
A spokesman for the Fair Work Ombudsman said that if the union could provide Fair Work with evidence workers were being underpaid, it would be thoroughly investigated.
“With respect to 7-Eleven, the agency has devoted considerable resources to ensuring the protection of worker’s rights,” the spokesman said.