The Prime Minister and Federal Employment Minister must reveal what the government is going to do in the wake of the 7-Eleven scandal, which has seen thousands of workers exploited and potential compensation payouts of up to $100 million.
SDA, the union for retail, fast-food and warehouse workers, National Secretary Gerard Dwyer said the Federal Government cannot continue to ignore the enormity of the issue, which the SDA says could just be the tip of the iceberg.
“It’s been revealed today that the convenience store could have to repay up to $100 million in compensation to more to more than 2000 past and present employees. This isn’t a small issue that can be swept under the rug, this is a national disgrace that the Prime Minister needs to act on,” Mr Dwyer said.
“The Federal Government’s silence on this issue is disgraceful.
“We now know that thousands of workers have been exploited to the tune of up to $100 million, and the most concerning part is that there could be thousands more workers out there right now still suffering in silence.
“The Prime Minister has a report outlining a range of key recommendations sitting on his desk, but he hasn’t so much as acknowledged it.
“The questions needs to be asked – why is the Federal Government so silent on this issue?
“This is a stain on Australia’s image and our Prime Minister is refusing to even acknowledge anything is wrong.
“We still have workers too scared to come forward because they’re scared about the potential repercussions if they do.
“That 7-Eleven has been allowed to get away with this exploitation for so many years is a national disgrace.”
The SDA is calling for on a number of key actions to be implemented including greater union access to the books at companies like 7-Eleven so that wage theft can be identified and a public announcement from the Federal Government of a visa amnesty for exploited workers.
Comments are closed.
