Employers who are caught stealing wages or employment benefits from their employees may be sentenced to up to 10 years' imprisonment.
After a long campaign carried out by many associations belonging to a multitude of sectors, the Parliament of Victoria passed a bill late on Tuesday evening, June 16, which provides for heavy fines and up to 10 years imprisonment for those employers who will be convicted for salary theft.
According to estimates made by KPMG, wage theft in Australia amounts to about 1.35 billion dollars a year and involves not only small entrepreneurs, but also large companies operating throughout the country.
"It may seem strict that an employer can go to jail for 10 years, but this is necessary." These are the words of Gabrielle Marchetti, lawyer at Job Watch, a non-profit association that deals with workers' rights and who spoke with us about this new bill.
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