Another sham worker scheme supported by the govt and Auspost
The revelations are acutely embarrassing for Australia Post and its owner, the federal government. Each has been effectively funding Mr Singh's operations - Australia Post through contracts with his labour hire companies, and the federal government through millions of dollars in student fee subsidies to his college, St Stephens Institute in Reservoir.
The money has continued to flow even though Australia Post has been repeatedly warned since 2012 that Mr Singh allegedly exploits overseas workers and students. Mr Singh's syndicate allegedly involves several other Indian business figures, including a licensed government migration agent, and student recruitment agents in India and China.
Just how widespread is this problem ?
Federal PoliticsPolitical NewsPolitical OpinionThe PulseBreaking Politics VideoCartoonsThe ZoneThe Sugar HitSearch smh: Search in:Federal Politics Migrant workers' unpaid wages should go to government: Productivity CommissionDateAugust 5, 2015 - 11:15PM25 reading nowJane Lee submit to redditEmail articlePrintReprints & permissions
The Salvation Army's Jenny Stanger: ''It is unfair for workers to be firstly deprived of wages by unscrupulous employers and a further injustice for the government to then collect those stolen wages." Photo: Anthony Johnson
The government would be paid wages that employers withheld from migrant workers, under a plan to prevent exploitation that victims' advocates say will allow Canberra to profit from forced labour.
People who employ migrant workers in breach of their visa conditions currently face fines of up to $51,000, and companies face fines of up to $255,000 for each worker under the Migration Act.
The Productivity Commission recommended in its draft report on workplace relations on Tuesday that employers who exploited migrant workers, who were more vulnerable to "substandard working conditions", should be punished further with fines raised by the amount of money workers were underpaid.
"The two-part penalty should be high enough to deter employers from engaging in unlawful behaviour," it said.
AdvertisementSuch fines are returned to consolidated revenue, a spokeswoman for the Immigration Department confirmed.
Jenny Stanger, national manager of the Salvation Army's Freedom Partnership, said: "It is unfair for workers to be firstly deprived of wages by unscrupulous employers and a further injustice for the government to then collect those stolen wages."
Few migrant workers, including those in Australia without a valid visa, claimed unpaid wages through the Fair Work Ombudsman, she said, either because they were deported or had limited support to do so.
Undocumented migrant workers are not entitled to the minimum wage and national employment standards.
The Productivity Commission cautioned against law reforms that would guarantee them appropriate pay conditions and improved workplace rights because this "may cause more migrants to seek work in breach of their visa conditions",
University of Sydney business lecturer Stephen Clibborn? rejected this, saying people working without valid visas should still risk deportation while maintaining a right to lost wages.
Migrants who chose to work in breach of their visas could not easily be distinguished from those who were forced to do so, the former industrial lawyer said, with many people working in dangerous situations for no money.
"[Both groups] are commonly suffering exploitative work in the form of underpayment of wages, harassment and unsafe working conditions. The employer and employee are equally in breach of the Migration Act and my concern is that employers have been able to profit from this breach, while employees are suffering."
Increasing already significant fines would do nothing to reduce demand for cheap labour, and continuing to deny undocumented migrants workplace rights would not help either, given the risk of deportation had not dampened the supply of workers, he said.
The report said there may be more than 100,000 migrants working against their visa conditions. Many supported their families in their country of origin.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/migrant-workers-unpaid-wages-should-go-to-government-productivity-commission-20150805-gisbf2.html#ixzz3hx0IPgSn
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If its not 457 visa workers doing stuff at lower rates while paying the sponsor for poor accommodation that requires no " skill " its something else. Now we have so called students delivering Auspost parcels at below rate wages and the con merchant gets both govt subs for students and contracts for parcels.