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Every business in Australia has a responsibility to pay its workers properly.
Many businesses, large and small, manage to do just that, which is why there’s no excuse for the companies and employers who get this wrong.
Wage theft doesn’t just hurt those workers who are underpaid. It also has an impact on our economy, as people put off spending and struggle with stagnating wages.
We know that many employers have come forward to acknowledge they’ve underpaid their workers and taken steps to backpay their staff. But, the fact is, workers should have never been underpaid in the first place
We also know that many employers don’t come clean. Others have tried to cover up their underpayments – or worse yet have deliberately used wage theft as part of their business model.
For half a decade now Labor has been calling on the Liberals to do something about worker underpayment, whether it occurs as a result of genuine payroll error or deliberate, systematic wage theft.
But despite scandal after scandal, starting with 7-Eleven in 2014, the Government has refused to act.
Scott Morrison simply does not take wage compliance seriously. And by failing to act on this issue, his Government has sent the message to businesses that they don’t need to take it seriously either.
Because the Morrison Government refuses to take meaningful action to end wage theft, the Labor Party established a Senate inquiry to investigate.
The inquiry will look at the reasons for wage and superannuation theft, the cost of wage theft to the economy and the best means of uncovering and stopping such theft in the future.
If you want to help stop wage theft, there are a few ways you can take action.
If you or someone you know has experienced wage theft, you can share your story. Email senator.ciccone@aph.gov.au and tell Raff how you’ve been affected.
You can sign the petition to end wage theft here.
You can make a submission to the Senate inquiry. Visit the inquiry homepage to find out how.
And, you can find out more about the issue by visiting the ACTU site here.
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which my offices stand and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
