A Victorian recycling giant which had contracts with several councils has been slapped with a fine double the amount of underpayments it withheld from five South Asian refugees working in its plant.
The workers were underpaid a total of $194,249 over a period of 20 months between 2018 and 2019 when they were employed to sort waste at facilities in Dandenong and Hallam then operated by the company Polytrade.
They were paid about half of what they were entitled to.
The five workers, who spoke limited English and were not informed of their entitlements, were all on protection visas and bridging visas (pending approval of their applications for protection visas).
The federal Fair Work Ombudsman took their case to the Federal Court after a tip-off from the Australian Workers Union.
The court fined Polytrade $375,515 and it paid the five workers in full.
The company also made a further $2.2 million in back payments to workers who had been underpaid since 2012 but not involved in the ombudsman's legal action.
Fair Work inspectors found the five employees were paid a flat rate of $22 per hour regardless of when they performed work, despite being required to perform night, weekend and public holiday work.
Some of the workers gave evidence in court that they worked 12-hour shifts, usually six and sometimes seven days per week.
Judge John Snaden said the wage theft was "a deliberate and cavalier disregard of important award safety net obligations" adding the breaches by Polytrade were "obnoxious" and "egregious".
The five workers were paid between 53 and 58 per cent of what they were entitled to leading the judge to describe the underpayments as "damning figures".
Judge Snaden also said the contraventions were "made worse" because all the employees with a refugee background had limited English skills.
“The court must exact a heavy toll: not merely to ensure that (the recycling firm) is brought to account for its obnoxious conduct; but also to serve as a warning to other employers," he said.
In the last six financial years, the ombudsman has secured $15 million in court-ordered penalties in visa holder litigations.
The Albanese government in June introduced tougher penalties on employers to curb migrant worker exploitation, with one in six recent migrants to Australia being paid less than the minimum wage.
Unions, lawyers and migrant rights groups earlier this month called for the introduction of an exploited worker guarantee, allowing employees to report bosses for unfair actions without fear of retaliation.
They argue it should be accompanied by a specific workplace justice visa that protects against deportation while workers seek advice and pursue action against exploitative employers.
