Fair Work Ombudsman has taken a Darwin mango farm operator to the Federal Circuit Court for allegedly underpaying foreign workers $36000 in just two months.
Vinai Chaipom who ran a business trading as The Mango Shop, allegedly paid some workers nothing at all for weeks of work. Others workers aged 19 and 20 were allegedly paid an average of just $2 an hour
The business was registered in the name of a Belgian backpacker who was in Australia on a 417 working holiday visa, but who is now an international student. Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that Chaipom was the true owner of the business.
The business allegedly underpaid 11 overseas workers and one permanent resident from New Zealand a total of $35,630 for work performed on farms at Livingstone, Noomanah and Humpty Doo.
The backpackers were hired after they responded to online job advertisements or approached Mr Chaipom for work.
Three of the overseas workers were allegedly paid nothing at all.
The New Zealand citizen was also allegedly paid nothing for four days' work.
Others allegedly received wages of between $500 and $1000, the equivalent of between $2.68 and $4.76 an hour.
As casual employees, they were entitled to be paid minimum hourly rates ranging from $19.45 to $21.61 under the Horticulture Award.
Individual underpayments allegedly range from $648 to $5119.
News Corp Australia has reported that Chaipom had officially changed his name from William Nicholas O’Donnell in December last year.
O’Donnell was jailed for assault and deprivation of liberty after advertising himself online as a guide and forcing a woman traveller to watch him perform an indecent act in a car in 2014.
On the tour, he insisted one of the women sleep in his tent and then spooned her naked against her wishes. When she threatened to leave, he threatened the group with a knife and demanded money, Herald Sun reported.
He faces maximum penalties ranging from $5400 to $10,800 per contravention.
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