Gurpreet Singh came to Australia in July 2014 as an MBA student at a reputed Australian university. He began working at a chain of restaurants soon thereafter, to earn an income.
“I achieved high distinctions in many subjects, and my studies were going well. But after two years of working at the restaurant, my employer offered to sponsor me, because he was happy with my work-ethic,” he tells SBS Punjabi.
“I thought this was a good opportunity because it would pave the pathway to permanent residency, which was my main motive.”
He was hired as a ‘cook’ because of prior experience of working in the kitchen. He obtained an RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) certificate prior to receiving the sponsorship.
Mr Singh’s contract, as sighted by SBS Punjabi, required him to work 38 hours per week, entitled him to sick and annual leave, as well as two days off per week.
But Mr Singh says the reality was quite different, and that the attitude of the owners changed completely once he signed the work contract.
“I was made to work 55 hours per week, which means 110 hours a fortnight and was never paid for the extra hours. I didn’t even get leave when I wanted and sometimes I had to work for 18 days at a stretch without a single day off.”
Additionally, he says he was made to work in other restaurants owned by the same owners, even though his sponsorship was from only one of the restaurants in the chain.
Some time sheets sighted by SBS Punjabi seem to support Mr Singh’s claim and he also adds, “Every month or so, they would ask me to fill another set of time sheets in my own writing.”
“They gave me different coloured pens to fill these out – and these time sheets were never more than 76 -78 hours a fortnight, and sometimes they would only be for 55 hours for the fortnight.”
Mr Singh received a standard salary of $1764.46 every fortnight for the 76 hours as mentioned in his contract.
“The salary never changed,” he says.
‘I felt if I stayed here for much longer I won’t survive’
Mr Singh tells SBS Punjabi, “Almost everyone working for them is a migrant worker. They come from Nepal, India and many are from Bangladesh.”
“They never employ any Australian workers, because they are well aware of their rights. Even the supervisors speak very little English.”
Speaking about his own situation, Mr Singh says, “Although I was meant to work as a ‘cook’, they actually got me to work as a grill chef, which is the toughest job in the kitchen.”
He alleges that it was extremely hot in the kitchen and there was hardly any ventilation.
“I have worked in those conditions day after day for two years from 2016 to 2018. I only did so in good faith that my hard work will be rewarded.”
“In fact I used to feel terrible for the young 21-22 year olds who had to work in similar conditions, knowing fully well that they would never dare to complain.”
“Many times I thought I should just leave and go back home to India. Even if I went back to farming, that would be an easier life – and at least I would live. I felt if I stayed here for much longer, I won’t survive.”
So Mr Singh says, he decided to do something about it.
“After one and a half years, I did ask them to at least pay me the full amount owed to me for the long hours they were making me work. They refused, threatening to withdraw my sponsorship if I kicked a fuss.”
Late in 2018, Mr Singh received first of the three formal warnings about failure to maintain food standards and also alleging misconduct, going on to name others in the kitchen who ‘witnessed’ this behaviour.
“But all of these allegations are absolutely untrue – I don’t even know the people they mentioned as witnesses.”
Regardless, he says he continued to go to work during this period.
In a termination letter dated February 2019 and sighted by SBS, Mr Singh’s former employer alleged that on several occasions he failed to maintain food maintain food safety procedures and on two occasions engaged in verbal altercations with restaurant staff.
Mr Singh denies the allegations, and after receiving the letter, he didn’t go back to work for the mandatory one month (required as per contract), telling SBS Punjabi, “I feared that other unfounded allegations maybe made against me.”
Mediation
Mr Singh complained to Fair Work Australia about his situation earlier this year.
“If you add up all the overtime hours that I haven’t been paid, it comes to over 1400 hours - I think they owe me $60,000 at least.”
When a mediation organised by Fair Work took place in March 2019, in the presence of both parties, it “was concluded without resolution.”
It was then suggested that he approach Legal Aid, which is where the matter was being assessed, at the time of writing this story.
Mr Singh described utter frustration at the process, saying, “Sometimes I feel even Punjab Police in India was better than authorities here. At least back home they took action on the spot. But here – nothing moves. I’ve just been going from pillar to post for the last three months.”
“I wish my case was investigated properly. I have time sheets that show how many hours I worked – and I have payslips that always remained exactly the same, which is quite odd. Furthermore, all restaurants have security cameras and CCTV footage – that will show how many hours I actually worked and will make things clear instantly.”
“I feel action should be taken against such employers who exploit their workers, who take undue advantage of their employees.”
He says all this has left him very disappointed.
“I used to say Australia is a great country, I’ve always paid my taxes and tried to be a good citizen, but I’ve lost my faith now. People don’t really get a fair go here.”
But he says, “I’m prepared for any consequences now because I haven’t done anything wrong. I am ready for whatever that may happen next.”
