Underpayment still a concern: PPA

CONCERNS of potential wage theft and unpaid overtime remain an issue for pharmacy employees, as many have worked hours of overtime to support their communities through the COVID-19 pandemic, Professional Pharmacists Australia (PPA) believes.

A union official told Pharmacy Daily, that a survey conducted during the first wave of the crisis found more than one-in-five pharmacists were working unpaid overtime, and 33% worked through breaks to keep up with demand.

“Pharmacies in Melbourne are still reporting similar impacts on demand due to the lockdown,” the spokesperson said.

“However, outside of Melbourne activity has returned to a more normal level.”

Following reports from the UK that 56% of pharmacists had seen their work hours extended, with two-thirds of those saying they were not being paid overtime, the PPA spokesperson flagged concerns over potential “wage theft” in Australia.

“Wage theft is a major problem in Australia and pharmacy is not immune,” the spokesperson said.

“Wage theft exists because the rights of working people have been eroded by a Government which has made attacking working people and their unions a number one priority.

“The rights of unions to inspect pay records and conduct compliance checks, once understood to be essential to ensuring fair pay and treatment of working people has been stripped back.

“The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is a woefully inadequate alternative to allowing workers’ representatives to play a stronger role in stamping out wage theft.

“Only 4% of complaints to the FWO in 2017-18 led to the FWO exercising its compliance or enforcement powers with $40 million recovered last year.

“PwC estimates that $1.35 billion was stolen from workers over the same period.

“It is no coincidence that since unions have been limited in their rights to inspect records and conduct spot-checks in workplaces, wage theft has risen to a national crisis.

“Unions stop wage theft because they protect the basic rights of working people.”