Overseas workers from India, Burma, Nepal and Korea were paid as little as $8 an hour for collecting trollies for Woolworths, Coles and Foodland.
Following investigations by Fair Work inspectors, Federal Court has imposed a penalty of $44,350 against Adelaide man Ki Bok Jin, who “deliberately underpaid” workers through his now-defunct trolley collecting company South Jin Pty Ltd.
In addition, Coastal Trolley Services Pty Ltd, which sub-contracted Jin’s company to provide trolley collection services, has been penalised $38,000 and its major shareholder and director Edward Stroop a further $8500.
The Court ordered that most of the penalties to be paid to the workers most of whom were in their 20s and described as “a group of vulnerable employees”.
Thirty eight trolley collectors were collectively underpaid a total of $85,367 while they worked at shopping centres in Marion, West Lakes, Elizabeth, Kurralta Park and Fairview Park between February 2009 and November 2010.
The workers were entitled to receive between $14 and $17 for ordinary hours and more than $30 for weekend and overtime work. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, their superannuation entitlements were also underpaid.
Justice Richard White found that Jin, through his company, had “adopted, deliberately, a system which would result in underpayments and sought to disguise that by producing wage records which were not just inaccurate, but false”.
Describing the conduct of Coastal Trolley Services and Stroop as “serious”, Justice White determined that the company knew that the sub-contract price it paid South Jin for part of the underpayment period was not sufficient to allow the company to pay minimum lawful entitlements.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says that outsourcing work to the lowest-cost contractor and turning a blind eye to whether the contractor pays workers’ correctly is not acceptable conduct.
“The law can extend legal liability to individuals involved in procurement and to companies further up the supply chain,” She said.
Employers and employees seeking assistance can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94.
