Calls for Queensland to jail employers over 'rampant' wage theft
Lawyers and unions representing vulnerable workers have called for Queensland to enact the country’s toughest laws criminalising wage theft, including $1m fines or 10-year jail terms for the most reckless employers.
The Queensland government is set to hold public hearings next week, with a view to drafting laws that will make wage theft a criminal offence. Maurice Blackburn lawyers and six unions say wage theft is widespread and most commonly targets marginalised workers, but that even public servants can be victims.
“The situation is certainly getting worse in Queensland,” United Voice coordinator Damien Davie said. “Wage theft is rampant in the hospitality, contract cleaning and contract security industries we cover. Chances are people are being served every day by someone who is not being paid what they’re owed.
“The unfortunate fact for many young and vulnerable people entering the workforce is they don’t know any different. With the reduction of union rights and our ability to investigate breaches, wage theft has just spiralled out of control.
“When an employee steals money, the police are called. But that doesn’t happen when an employer steals money from a worker. Cases are costly to prosecute and the Fair Work Ombudsman is a toothless tiger. There’s no deterrent.”
In a combined submission, Maurice Blackburn, United Voice, the Together union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, the Transport Workers Union and others have called for a new wage theft act and a tiered system of fines and potential jail sentences to punish and deter employers.
The employment law principal at Maurice Blackburn, Giri Sivaraman, said the tiered system could allow for stricter penalties in cases where actions were intentional, as opposed to situations where bosses did not know the law.
“It’s very prevalent in Queensland and it’s very problematic,” Sivaraman said. “I’ve had clients across numerous industries ... agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, printing, hospitality, construction ... the list just goes on.
“There needs to be recognition that it’s theft. There needs to be recognition that it’s criminal to steal from employees. And there needs to be easier options for enforcement.
“If I went into a convenience store and stole a Snickers bar, that theft is at at maximum punishable by five years in jail.
“If I was working at a convenience store, I put the hand in the till and stole $2, then that is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
“But if my boss, who is meant to pay me, takes away $5, I then have to go to court in a long protracted proceeding for breach of an award and the worst that can happen to the employer is that he has to pay back that $5 to me.”
The submission says subcontracting arrangements allow large companies to dictate cost and pay rates, but abrogate responsibility for the employee’s welfare and conditions.
United Voice research shows the likelihood of exploitation increases “exponentially” once additional layers of subcontracting are introduced. A 2016 audit by the Fair Work Ombudsman found one in three cleaning businesses were paying staff incorrectly.
The public service is also a focus of the submission, which is backed by Together, which covers public sector workers in Queensland.
Under current Queensland law, public servants cannot make a claim for unpaid wages if they perform duties that should attract a higher rate of pay, or if their current position is under-classified.
“Queensland public servants may still be barred from making underpayment claims, even where it has been recognised by their department’s chief executive that they were performing duties attracting a higher rate of pay,” the submission says.
“This leaves public servants in a demonstrably worse position that employees in the private sector, and needs to change.”